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This site-specific performance event took place at the Cumberland Basin in Bristol’s floating harbour, the site of a disused swing bridge built by the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
As part of Bristol’s celebration of Brunel’s 200th birthday, the performance contemplated his contribution to the birth of the industrial revolution and its effect and wider repercussions for modern life.
By weaving together historical and contemporary facts and fictions of the site with the artist’s reflections on issues of transport, travel, technology, love and the disappearance of distance, the performance constituted a poetic and critical reflection on Brunel’s legacy.
Devised and performed under the label of Polar Produce with Teresa Dillon, Dominic Fryett, Kathy Hinde, Mary Southcott and Tanya Steinhauser.
Taking Ground was commissioned by Brunel 200 with supported from Creative Bristol, Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Lottery and The Arts Council of England and the Millennium Commission.