Compass was a collaboration between one of the world’s leading wildlife recordists Chris Watson and acclaimed Northumbrian poet Linda France. We developed this poetry and sound installation especially for Cheeseburn Sculpture. The concept developed from the location of Cheeseburn in Northumberland just a few minutes past the noon of North, as well as North, South, East and West, ‘Compass’ also refers to other concepts that come in fours – the seasons, the elements and the four quarters of the day. So, in four separate locations around Cheeseburn’s grounds, visitors could listen to a lightly orchestrated soundscapes by Chris Watson of birdsong, wildlife, weather and original poems by Linda France composed for each setting.
As Cheeseburn’s first Writer in Residence, Linda visited over the span of a single year, on solstices, equinoxes and cross quarter days, to create a calendar of the place, based on acute observation and calm reflection. The intimate awareness gained from this research period informed both the concept of Compass and the poems Linda wrote to accompany Chris’s recordings.
