"Murmuration" is the name for the roosting swarming dance of hundreds of starlings at sunset. This project is about the setting of Embassy Court and the way in which the building now fits within that setting.
I have been enchanted by the unusual shape of Embassy Court since I lived in Regency Square 4 years ago. I used to climb out of the window of my top floor flat onto the roof of the next building and watch the sunset. The starlings would swarm around the west pier and as the sun went behind Embassy Court you could see the orange light shine through the windows. I always wanted to go inside and investigate, and when I finally got to visit the flat a friend was renting there, I thought it was such an interesting building. Sadly it was looking neglected in those days, and I crossed my fingers that someone would bring it back to life.
Embassy Court is a beautiful example of Modernist architecture, and it's this type of building that I think fits best within the naturally beautiful surroundings of Brighton and Hove beach. The minimalism within modernist architecture seems to strip away the fuss and show the beauty within simplicity. Instead of trying to mask the functionality of the form it reveals an elegance and beauty. Nature also strips away the fuss through evolution to leave the functional and in so doing exposes the beauty within that function. This is what led me to the idea of using the Japanese minimalism of origami to represent that simplicity and beauty both in the architecture of Embassy Court and in it's natural surroundings.
For "Murmuration" I suspended 1000 origami birds from the ceiling in the foyer at Embassy Court, in the starling swarming formation. The birds ranged in size. The shape of the foyer fits the shape of a murmuration perfectly, and the cloud of origami birds curved round the foyer. Onto this I projected a film of the murmuration of starlings with a soundtrack of starlings played on surround sound speakers.In Japan, there is a legend that if you make a thousand origami birds you get your wish. Today it has also become a symbol of peace through the story of Sadako, a young girl diagnosed with Leukaemia in Hiroshima. Sadako heard of the legend, and tried to make a thousand birds in order to get well. Sadly, she died before completing one thousand birds, but her friends and family continued making birds for her. Now, people from all over the world send origami birds to the statue of Sadako in Hiroshima. I used the birds as a symbol of living in harmony with nature, through conservation and education. This is demonstrated through the way the building has been renovated and fits in with its surrounding area.
This piece brought the mixture of modernism, minimalism and nature that Embassy Court has on the outside to the inside of the building.
Sponsored by Bluestorm Ltd and The Arts Council England.
Photography by Richard Boll Photography
