Tunnel by Hannah Beehre for SCAPE Public Art Season 2018

A sculptural installation within Canterbury Museum, Tunnel created a walk-through rendering of a nebula: a cloud of gas and dust in outer space visible in the night sky. Nebulae can be where new stars are formed, while others are the remnants of dead or dying stars. Beehre’s images were rendered in dyed silk velvet with Swarovski crystals and LED lights. There was a subtle visual tension between the fluidity of the dye work, the highly refractive crystals, and the rich, light-absorbing surface of the textile. This was the first large-scale installation Beehre made with an illusion of total immersion. She created a portal that offered a brief galactic journey in the midst of the Canterbury Museum. Tunnel created an entrance to the exhibition Wildlife Photographer of the Year. A second work, Orion 2018, was hung/mounted on a wall in the Museum foyer.