Shropshire Star

Watch: Shrewsbury church is a Christmas kaleidoscope

A church was filled by the colours of Christmas as part of a spectacular art installation.

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Artist Andy McKeown brought a riot of colour to St Mary’s Church by taking stained glass images and projecting them on to walls and ceilings

Nine projectors were used to turn St Mary’s Church into a giant kaleidoscope.

Artist Andy McKeown used the painted glass windows of the church as his inspiration for his show. The church, on Dogpole, Shrewsbury, was lit up by thousands of projected shards of light which illuminated even the darkest corners.

The Splinters of Heaven illumination was created entirely from images of the glass in the church and projected using the large format projectors to envelop the space.

Designed and produced by Andy, who has made his name as an international light artist and who runs Wild Strawberry, as a final event of the year and a gift to Shrewsbury.

The event was arranged with Fiona Hanan, site coordinator at St Mary’s, to present the beautiful stained glass as it had never been seen before.

Artist Andy McKeown brought a riot of colour to St Mary’s Church by taking stained glass images and projecting them on to walls and ceilings

The show rounds off a year of light installations for Wild Strawberry with shows at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool to mark its 50th anniversary, Nottingham Castle, The Clock Room at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery and Ursula Queen of the Jungle at the town’s Wightman Theatre.

Andy also presented a memorial Son et Luminère at Shrewsbury’s St Chad’s Church to launch Armed Forces Day.

Other projects included Nuit Des Lampions in Wiltz Luxembourg, Conwy Feast 2017 and The Wonder and Horror of the Black Country at Black Country Living Museum.

Andy said: “It really was the highlight of the year. I took hundreds of images of the glass in St Mary’s and it was amazing to see the details of it up close. We have had a fantastic year but this was a great way to round it off. It was nice to be able to do something free for the people of Shrewsbury in such a wonderful setting.

"I intend to go back and photograph the rest of the glass in the church and then put on another show. I have a passion for stained glass and this was a great way of being able to show that off to people.”