Mariner 9 in Spanish City

Spanish City

I've been wandering by the Tyneside Cinema recently and been struck by the poster for Mariner 9, named after the Mars Space Orbiter , not a feature film but a media installtion by Kelly Richardson (@richardsonkelly on twitter). Yesterday I dropped in looking for the class postcards that they have stopped doing and again Mariner 9 caught my eye , along with the closing date , Sunday 19th August , meaning I had to go today or get over next weekend , and when you limit your options something always turns up to thwart you so ....

...today I made my way to Whitley Bay , specifically Spanish City , which has served in that past as a ballroom and funfair , but then fell into disrepair befiore peing picked up by North Tyneside council to be refurbished. So the first thing I saw was the spruced up frontage and refurbished dancers and when you enter , under the dome , you get an educational timeline of the place from its beginning up to the present day. Here is the Wikipedia entry with links onward.

Mariner 9 - Kelly Richardson

 Anyway what I really went to see was Kelly Richardson's Mariner 9. What can I say without spoiling it? I desribed it as hypnotic , and  it was amazing. Based on what my be happening on Mars in 200 years , itmakes you mind work and to be quite honest I could have stood all day watching , hoping to spot something  I'd missed. The sheer size shows nods to John Martin , probably the greatest artist to originate from the North East. I also though that it was not a plays for kids , but their were two six year olds mesmerised by the piece.

Anyway I hope I've piqued your interest.  I really can recommend going to see it.

If you cant I've just found it here so you can watch , but I recommend seeing it in situ so to speak,
Mariner 9 from Kelly Richardson on Vimeo.