York Minster's stained glass windows come to life with technology from 17.000 Panasonic lumens

To create the images projected on the ceiling of York Minster, The Projection Studio used eight Panasonic PT-DW17K equipment and three others of the same model for those shown on the back wall. All this was controlled with the Dataton Watchout system.

In the last decade more than 18 millions of pounds on restoring the intricate and historic stained glass windows that attract thousands of visitors to York Minster each year (York Minster). These sums mean that fundraising is essential for this Gothic building., some of whose parts date from 1225.

In June of this year, York Minster Fund commissioned a video projection and sound installation as the culmination of The Northern Lights Dinner fundraising campaign. The result was an immersive and complexly crafted sound and visual work., Northern Lights, which sought to illuminate the vault of the nave and the famous large west stained glass window. The artists Ross Ashton and Karen Monid were in charge of its creation., members of The Projection Studio.

Ross and Karen are known around the world for their projection and audio works.. His style of ‘installation performance’ with mixed media has been developed in a series of innovative experiences in different locations. They already worked in the cathedral in 2010 with production Rose, another spectacular work centered on the famous rose window and have created other works for the Illuminating York festival in 2008 y 2013.

“York has been very good to us, giving us the freedom to create various important works. We are delighted to return, this time to work inside the cathedral”, explica Ross Ashton, director creativo de The Projection Studio.

The work, ten minutes long, was witnessed by 700 people at Northern Lights dinner. Later, performances were held for two days, in which the cathedral was opened to the public at dusk. This allowed other 3.300 people could witness it.

“People who go to a cathedral usually look down or at the side monuments, but we wanted people to look at the upper windows, towards the ceiling. The fact of using very modern technology in a historic building motivates many people to come and appreciate this space”, comments Neil Sanderson, director of York Minster investment fund.

The content was inspired by the intricate details contained in stained glass., which are then enlarged to scale to achieve an enormous visual impact within the architecture.

“I have been working on these windows for ten years., so I know the images perfectly well. See how the dragon came to life like that, expelling fire from the mouth, It was something wonderful”, comments Christopher Norton, from the University of York (Minster’s Glass Advisory Group).

The projected images covered the entire vault of the 65-metre nave.×20 meters and also the west wall of 20×40 metros.

“It is a very emblematic building with a fantastic history. It was a true honor to create this light show in the cathedral, where it has never been seen before”, explained Karen Monid, sound artist at The Projection Studio.

Ross used eight projectors combined Panasonic PT-DW17K by 17.000 lumens to create the ceiling images and another three of the same model for the background wall. “Using equipment from this manufacturer gives us greater creative freedom, because it allows us to concentrate on the work.”, Karen adds..

Ross devised a custom platform for the ship's projectors, so that they would remain 15 degrees displaced from the vertical and pointing almost directly towards the ceiling. The compact nature of the PT-DW17 makes it ideal for these types of applications., since its small size leaves more space for visitors. The projection of the mapping was controlled by a system Dataton Watchout and programmed by Richard Kenyon.

“The combination of projected images, speeches and music perfectly complemented the cavernous space of the cathedral. And thanks to the use of images in medieval windows, “The installation conveyed the eternal truths they contain to a completely new audience.”, explains Neil Sanderson.