Longline Programme Notes from 2003
Morecambe Bay is a site of Special Scientific Interest. Seen from a
satellite, it resembles a decapitated natterjack toad heading out to
the Irish Sea. Turner and Constable crossed the sands by stagecoach
to study and paint the clouds. Those same towering banks of cumulus
weather are still here. Underneath, great tides continue to sweep back
and forth revealing a voracious feeding ground of worms and crabs and
fish for waders and gulls.
Humans mostly carry on regardless, provoked by the occasional but regular drowning, funds are raised for inshore rescue teams. Designs for wind farms and cross bay bridges are discussed. Trains still cross Victorian viaducts. Micro light aircraft take off, and underneath their luminous wings a million lugworms form runways of tiny cairns.
The Bay is a complex and inspirational wonder, which we ignore at our peril. Many children don't go down to the sands today and many adults are too busy to focus on this awe inspiring window on their doorstep.
Through Longline - a 3-year programme of work - WSI seeks to bring people together in a spirit of research, awareness and celebration. There will be hard analysis and imaginative dreaming; scientists, musicians, artists and the community creating together to produce information, songs, music, stories, choirs, videos and exhibitions culminating in a Carnival Opera and Festival of the Sands in the summer of 2005.
Longline is written by
Welfare State International in partnership with Whitewood & Fleming
The Longline Projects Docoumented here are: