Visitors to Canterbury Festival 2016 will be treated to Sleepless light exercises, a life-sized sculpture by Bernardí Roig of an isolated male figure leaning against one of the Cathedral’s interior walls, emblazoned with 200 fluorescent tubes.
Cast from polyester resin and marble dust, the total whiteness of the man’s body bathed in artificial light creates a thrilling tension within the cathedral space. The Chapter House, dating from the early 1400s, is where the Cathedral’s monks would gather to read from their Benedictine rule. It is the largest of its kind in England, with a very high roof constructed from Irish oak.
Roig’s work explores themes like human isolation, loneliness, the body’s deterioration and the limits of knowledge. Roig’s previous projects have toured historic sites around the world including Burgos Cathedral and La Lonja de Palma de Mallorca. The project in curated by Emma Brasó, Cultural Programme Curator ,University for the Creative Arts (Canterbury). The project is a collaboration between UCA and Canterbury Festival.