Everyone knows chaos is the the starting point for creation. In Andy McKeown’s light show ‘Fractured Light’ chaos was the creation. It filled one of the cavernous warehouse floors of Ditherington Flax Mill in Shrewsbury. Multiple projections of coloured lights and Flax Mill images danced on the walls and cast-iron pillars of this eighteenth century prototype of the skyscraper.
I wrote about this historic building way back in 2013 when Friends of the Flax Mill were hosting an open day. (See Pattern For The Skyscraper ). The place is vast, and has stood empty for decades waiting for some clever scheme of ‘adaptive re-use’ that will make restoring the building viable. It has ghosts of course – of the many poor children who once provided ‘slave’ labour here. The light show, at least, lifted the spirits after we had toiled round dank, windowless chambers, and up narrow stairwells that reminded me of Tolkein’s Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings. Luckily, we met no orcs.
For some great exterior shots of the Flax Mill see Jude’s post for last week’s Thursday’s Special, and take a look at Andy McKeown LightWorks.
Tish Farrell 
Oh, wow…an interesting experience
Nice to see an old mill re-purposed. Living in the original home of American industry, we have a LOT of old mills. Some have burned down — quite a few, sadly. The others have become office space, workshops and small businesses, gymnasiums, and a few of the taller, bigger stone ones, senior housing. One has become a TV station. But I think yours beats all of ours for creativity 🙂
Cool pictures Tish and I popped over to see your other posts about the Flax Mill – very interesting and some great exterior shots too 🙂
Thanks for the visit 🙂
I thought I’d heard of this place, and great to see something going on there!
Ah, one and the same (as Jude’s) but looking very different. I love initiative, Tish, especially when there are no Orcs about. 🙂
Orcs would have been bad. Just thinking of them makes me very very worried.
This must have been really something to see, Tish. It reminds me of the patches of color on the floors of the great cathedrals as the sun streams through their grand stained glass windows. Beautiful.
And so magical in what is otherwise a very grim and mildewy building.
Creative view on chaos! 🙂
I’m rather fond of chaos one way and another. Which is as well, since it seems to follow me about.