Exhibition to inspire commuters at Cheshire train station

An interactive art exhibition is set to open at a train station at Crewe station in a bit to inspire busy commuters.

The exhibition titled Living Sculpture (Virtual) has been created by award-winning Liverpool based artist Laurence Payot, in collaboration with a team of researchers and practitioners at the University of York. Its aim is to encourage visitors to make emotional exchanges between themselves and the digital world, with the station becoming a stage where passengers can become both the audience and the participants who can interact with the artwork.

The interactive sculpture, which will be on display on platform six, invites passengers at the station to place their hands on the exhibition. Using an illusion technique to create a hologram, the motion tracking tracks the user’s hand movement, creating dots around their skin. When a second user joins in, the sculptor creates art with both participants’ movements.

The installation is part of Cheshire East’s creative ‘Shift’ programme, which is introducing innovative activities around all things digital in unusual and surprising spaces.

Artist Laurence Payot, said: “What excited me most about showing the work in Crewe Station is the fact that strangers might come together for a moment to experience the work. I love places of transition, when you’re shifting from one place to another. This is also what the work is about: communication, connections, encounters.”

An “In Conversation” event is set to take place on Friday March 17 at 4pm on Platform 6 between the artist Laurence Payot and SHIFT Creative Director Louise Shannon.

Mark Taylor, Virgin Trains Station Manager for Crewe Station, said: “We are always looking to challenge traditional thinking and look at innovative ways to enhance our customers’ experience. Tens of thousands of commuters will pass through the station in the next month, and I’m sure Laurence’s engaging work will inspire a lot of comment, interaction with fellow passengers and generate a few smiles too.”

Living Sculpture (Virtual), opens on Platform 6 at Crewe Station from Friday March 10, and can be viewed daily by commuters until April 7 from 9-6pm.