"Germania Meets Europa"

The View - The unload begins.

I have been asked to create a projection artwork for the statue of 'Germania' in the Rhine Valley, Germany. Having driven across four countries yesterday we arrived at Rudesheim am Rhein last night. This morning we began the install of the projectors into their structures. The view here is magnificent. The statue stands on the rim of the valley staring out across the river and the landscape beyond. Four hours saw the projectors installed and then it was just a wait for the power to be run in. For a crew used to working in events, the delivery method for the cable was somewhat unusual, but the professional approach taken by the German power company and the use of the cable laying machine meant that the power was laid down in around 15 minutes.

This projection work is part of the 'Rheinpartie' which will see many buildings illuminated over the weekend. For more info go to www.rheinpartie.com.

Projection structure part built.

The power arrives.

Germania awaits...

The Pittsburgh Festival of Lights - Palimpsest

I was invited by The Pittsburgh Festival of Lights to create a piece for this year festival.
The resulting 5 minute work is a visual 'poem' on the theme of man's need and desire to understand the world and environments around him, and to pass on knowledge through the generations. I believe that we all have a need to make sense of the world; and that this is a basic human drive. How do we answer the Big Questions? How do we explain the universe and our place in it?


The Festival already have a PIGI 6KW projector a permanently installed on the roof of the Pittsburgh Opera office building on Penn Street.


It was a great privilege to be asked to contribute to the Festival. The blank canvass gave me plenty of creative scope to produce a work that was visually arresting - to catch people's attention. However, it was also imperative that I offered a communication in which they could actively engage so they stop, watch and think as they follow the story.
A 'Palimpsest' is a manuscript page from a scroll or book that has been scraped off and used again, thereby implying potential layers of information. In the same way man has used the ideas of past generations to build up explanations of his universe, only to reject or remodel them again and again.


This work traces the development of communication from early cave drawings and carvings thorough to hieroglyphics, the discovery of mathematics and calculus, the medieval monasteries which were powerhouses of learning in Europe through to rationalism, then on to binary code and computer languages. Binary has a special significance as a language that no one can speak, but that can be interpreted as something everyone can understand.

This event is on now and runs until the 27th of September.
It is free and open to the public.

Rockestra - Malta - The Rifffs - "Champagne Charlies Ghost"

After posting the write up below, I have started to psot some of the videos that I took that night.

These first two are of The Rifffs, a storming Ska band. This is Champagne Charlies Ghost, a track I had never heard of but, its really good. I was at college in Coventry in the late '70's so Ska was part of the atmosphere at that time. A great track, well played.

Rockestra - Malta - The Rifffs - "Life of Crime"

The Rifffs playing live at the Rockestra Concert in Malta in aid of the MCCF charity.

I wanted to have a very different look from their other piece that night whilst keeping their red / white / black colour scheme.

'Rockestra' - Malta - The show begins...

Rockestra Ident, originally uploaded by Ross Ashton.

Thanks for coming to look at my blog. This is a new venture for me, but I hope that you find it interesting.

If you are here, I guess you may be interested in large scale, monumental and architectural projection.

I have recently returned from a week in Malta working on the 'Rockestra' concert. This is somewhat different for me as I am know mostly for my outdoor architectural work. This isn't the first time that I have worked on concerts like this, but I do find a blank canvas opens up different possibilities than three dimensional architecture. I was asked by the President of Malta, George Abela to work on this project to raise money for the Malta Community Chest Fund. President Abele is the patron of this charity. I have a long track record of doing large events in Malta starting with working at the launch of the Freeport in 1999 and, most significantly working on the 'Welcome Europe' event in 2004. In all, I have produced seven events there. This was my chance to give something back to a country that has been very good to me.

Music Was My First Love - Brass Machine

Musical Director, Sigmund Mifsud had already chosen and orchestrated a series of rock classics pieces to be played by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. The Rockestra show took place on the 12th September at the MFCC. Ticket sales were expected to be around 3,000 but I am very pleased to say that they sold out at 12,000. This is the largest indoor event ever held in Malta. The evening included pieces by Coldplay, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, The Eagles and John Miles, so had a strong 70’s leaning and I wanted to reflect that in the imagery. The local artists were The Riffs, Jotham Saliba, Claire Caruana, Alex Bezzina, Raquela, Neville Refalo, Daniel Cauchi, Ruben Zahra, Paul Borg Bonaci and DJ Owen.

Deep Purple Medley - 70's Pyramid Power

I was out in Malta with Karen Monid and Richard Porter who made a great team working long hours to make this something special for this charitable event. Excellent work chaps!

See more of my work at: www.rossashton.com

See many more photos on Flickr at my Photostream: Ross Ashton.

Other Links:

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=93996

http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20090914/local/rocking-for-charity

Another Brick In The Wall - Urban Madness