LINDISFARNE CASTLE

The National Trust commissioned us to deliver a cohesive visitor journey throughout Lindisfarne Castle. The challenge was to narrate the story of its inhabitants whilst aligning it to Paul Rooney’s contemporary sound installation piece.

We created a free-standing introductory display to introduce the main characters in the story of Lindisfarne. Props were used alongside this to set the scene and to give visitors an insight into life at the castle in the early twentieth century.

Interpretive messages along with pieces from the Trust’s collection were used to create a narrative throughout the visit, making a link between the excesses of the past with the changing nature of the environment and climate crisis.

We used sympathetic interventions; leaving messages on driftwood, chopping boards, suitcases, wine cases and tablecloths and in projected text onto walls. Panels and displays were printed to look like they were in state of decay – nature being the uninvited guest in the castle. There is a threatening and ever-present undertone in all of the interpretation which leaves visitors with a underlying sense of unease.