HOPE is a large-scale text sculpture featuring hundreds of colour-changing LED tubes, along with speakers projecting local people's experiences of the conflict.
Twenty-metre-long three-dimensional geometric shapes cast complex luminous forms in the immediate surroundings while different voices evoke the stories of men and women during the war, creating an immersive emotional landscape.
Aether & Hemera's artwork underlines the emotive power of words; personal letters, diaries and memoirs reveal the spontaneous overflow of intense and complex feelings about war: hope and horror, hatred and love, fear and shame.
HOPE reflects on the past - commemorating the sacrifice, courage and suffering of all those who lived through the First World War; it uncovers sensorial perceptions, embodying them in a different medium, to engage with the viewers and induce feelings of connective human experiences. The themes remain universal and timeless.
The installation has been commissioned by Durham County Council as a culmination to its World War One centenary activities.
Photos: Courtesy of Aether & Hemera