108 Steps brought to life

Artist Matthew Rosier brings Macclesfield’s historic 108 Steps to life with a playful, projection-mapped installation

Commissioned by SHIFT/Cheshire East with support from Macclesfield’s Barnaby Festival, 108 Stepswill be on show Friday 26th and Saturday 27th October at 6-11pm and Sunday 28th October, 4.30-9pm. There’s no charge to watch the piece and viewers can just turn up and stay as long as they like.

The 108 Stepsbetween Macclesfield station and the town centre, are a beloved local landmark.Over three nights in October, passersby can see the Steps brought to life by artist Matthew Rosier who has captured ‘a week in the life’ on film, to create a wistful, ethereal and atmospheric projection-mapped installation.

Best viewed from the bottom of the Steps (which remain open throughout the installation), the 20-minute projection captures Macclesfield’s past amidst its present. As Matthew says:  “I wanted to create a work that offered a glimpse into the contemporary identity of Macclesfield residents through the lens of a historic piece of infrastructure, the 108 Steps. The creation of the work relied on meeting people locally, both through the process of filming the steps and the research trips beforehand. It’s exciting that many of these people will now feature in the performance of the work!”

Over four days in September, Matthew visited Macclesfield to capture the daily life of the town’s iconic Steps. Filmed footage of local runners, commuters, dog walkers – and everyone in between – has been composed into a loop of memories, which will be projected onto the face of the steps (and people using them). The work creates interplay between past and present, bringing to life the Steps’ historic connection to people and place. Believed to date from 1696 when a local newspaper nicknamed the cobbled climb ‘The Steps’, no one knows exactly when they were created.

Mandy Martinez, Barnaby Festival Director, says: “We’re proud to be a partner of Matthew’s new work 108 Steps. It’s a beautifully ambient piece that creates a connection between past and present, re-imagining the everyday experience of a space in our town in a creative and delightful way. Helping to bring this to Macclesfield is an important factor in demonstrating Macclesfield’s commitment to pioneering great new artistic work, all year round.”

108 Stepswill be on show:

• Friday 26th and Saturday 27th October at 6-11pm;
• Sunday 28th October, 4.30-9pm.

There’s no charge to watch the piece and viewers can just turn up and stay as long as
they like.