Middlesex talent shines at Barnet’s Light and Flight festival

Immersive installation, historical photography and animation bring Barnet’s stories and heritage to life

Students and graduates from Middlesex University’s Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries are showcasing their talents at Barnet’s Light and Flight festival, a major borough-wide arts and cultural programme taking place in November.

Middlesex has collaborated on exhibitions and interactive visual displays, celebrating the borough’s heritage and history through creative and community projects.

The programme’s creative centrepiece, Ascendance, is an installation by artist Matthew Rosier. The immersive artwork features video portraits of young people from Barnet, who appear to float in mid-air. Created with more than 100 local residents, it incorporates audio stories that share their migratory journeys.

Middlesex film graduate Elijah Makoma, who worked as cinematographer on the piece, collaborated with Matthew, bringing the visual effects to life, while technical tutor Sam Wibberley constructed the rig used to film Ascendance and worked closely with the artist on design solutions.

Speaking about his experience Elijah said:

“Matthew communicated his vision pretty well; how he wanted the projections to go, how massive it was supposed to be and how he wanted them to be floating.

“I knew exactly what to do in terms of the lighting, and the different objects that would be in frame, and the specific vision he had. The chemistry we built there was fantastic because of how we worked together.”

Discussing his role, Sam Wibberley said: “I’ve worked a lot with creatives and with artists, and something that we do a lot at Middlesex is making those dreams practical or facilitating that creative practice.

“It's nice for Middlesex to be front and centre with some of these big projects, and people see what we do and can maybe come to us to learn, to think; yes, I want to do that.”

The festival also features From Barnet with Love, a project at the RAF Museum led by artist Emma Tominey in collaboration with Middlesex Graphic Design and Illustration students to bring Barnet’s history to life.

Commissioned to create a rephotography archive of historic images of the borough, students revisited the original locations and photographed them as they appear today. The project was delivered in collaboration with Woven Ink.

Artist Emma Tominey reflected on her work with Middlesex Art and Design students:

“The students have made a genuine contribution to From Barnet with Love, brought their own creativity, personality and perspective to the project, and I hope it has given them greater confidence in the value of their own creative practice and the possibilities available to them beyond graduation.”

Ascendance preview by Matthew Rosier

Second-year BA Illustration student, Lauren Pinnock, said:

“This internship was extra special to me: there were loads of attendees in their senior years and it was so lovely to hear their stories, personal memories and what their postcards represented. I got hands on experience with how to manage an activity within participatory arts and landed my first ever commission.”

Middlesex also contributed to the curation of Pioneering Stories, another exhibition at the RAF Museum. BA Animation students produced four animated films based on the biographies of influential historical figures who lived in Barnet.

Final-year BA Animation student Alejandro Villamel, who produced one of the films, said:

 “I got to work with four other very talented animators to produce an animated short based on Edmundo Ross who grew up in the Barnet area. We produced a stop motion 2D animated film hybrid showing his life.”

As part of Pioneering Stories, Middlesex Animation lecturer Sam Summers will also collaborate with the Phoenix Cinema and the BFI on a screening event celebrating Barnet resident and pioneering animator Lotte Reiniger. The event will mark the centenary of The Adventures of Prince Ahmed, the oldest surviving animated feature film.

Deputy Dean for Arts and Education at Middlesex University, Dr Helen Bendon commented:

“Light and Flight has been a wonderfully collaborative project with the commissioned artists, the local authority, our creative colleagues and students.

“This is a great example of how higher education, industry and community can come together to benefit all involved.”

More about the festival and programme.

Article photo credit: Ascendance Film Tour photo by Zoe Scholes.