Time Bascule

Now available to watch online.

We’re delighted to present ‘Time Bascule’, a newly commissioned film by internationally acclaimed artist, inventor and filmmaker Di Mainstone which was originally shown as part of a temporary exhibition inside Tower Bridge’s Engine Rooms – part of the our 125th anniversary celebrations last year.

The film reimagines Tower Bridge as a giant musical instrument, drawing inspiration from one of the first women to work on the Bridge - Hannah Griggs, who cooked for the Bridge Master and his family between 1911-1915. Hannah plays the role of musical maestro to pluck the strings and ‘play’ the iconic London landmark.

Mixing the real with the imagined, the film explores Hannah’s life in the famous towers via a specially composed musical narrative that weaves through one of many remarkable personal histories from 125 years of the Bridge. Focusing on her love of plants, the dreamlike work sees Hannah researching the connection between music and plant growth, working to develop larger and more ambitious tools to help her ‘play’ Tower Bridge like a giant musical instrument.

Discover the song at the heart of the Bridge and discover the– until now – hidden sounds of Tower Bridge.

 

About the artist

Artist Di Mainstone has previously developed instruments to create music from the Brooklyn Bridge, Clifton Suspension Bridge and most recently Sunderland’s new Northern Spire Bridge. She is an award-winning WIRED innovation fellow who specialises in creating playable bridges and wearable sonic devices. The New York Times has featured her as one of their ‘new generation visionaries’ of the international digital art scene.

Follow her on  Twitter and Instagram.