Houghton Hall

We spent the day at Houghton Hall with our friends. The main event was a series of light installations by an American artist, James Turrell. There were a varied selection of works which included holograms, a skyspace (a large wooden cabin with a large aperture framing a view of the sky), light windows with subtly changing colours and coloured light projections. These often had a strong effect on perception and the body; we sat in a completely dark room for ten or fifteen minutes gradually attuning to some very soft light projected into the space. When we came out we had a feeling of being deeply peaceful and very grounded in our bodies.
Houghton Hall was built for the first British Prime Minister Robert Walpole but his grandson gambled away all his money and flogged off the stone staircase to pay off some of his debts. It is a grand country house in the Palladian style with around a thousand acres of park land. The present owners have commissioned a number of sculptures by contemporary artists which stand at various locations in the grounds.

Waterflame was created by the Danish artist Jeppe Hein. It is situated in a beautiful walled garden. According to the catalogue,  "Jeppe Hein is interested in the interaction between the artwork and the observer. He creates movement and drama, often using fire and water in his sculptures."