A new immersive art installation that changes with every visit is set to open at Abbot Hall.
Darkness Visible, by internationally acclaimed artist Russell Mills, opens on October 24 and runs until April 17, promising an evolving sensory experience through film, sound, and generative technology.
The work is inspired in part by Kendal’s "Blind Philosopher," John Gough, and offers a constantly shifting landscape of images and sounds that never repeats in the same way twice.
Will Cooper, senior curator (exhibitions and engagement) at Lakeland Arts, said: "Russell’s work gives us a wonderful opportunity to look at our surroundings, and even ourselves, a little differently.
"There is a very strong local thread running through Darkness Visible, from Russell’s longstanding connection with Cumbria to the remarkable story of John Gough.
"As a disabled person myself, championing the legacy of a disabled pioneer is a genuine thrill.
"Gough’s forced adaptation after a seismic physical shift is a reality I deeply understand, and his radical curiosity about the natural world is profoundly inspiring."
Mills, who was born in Yorkshire in 1952 and has lived in Ambleside for many years, has spent decades working at the intersection of music, visual art, and installation.
He is known for album artwork for artists such as Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, David Sylvian, and Nine Inch Nails, as well as collaborations with figures from literature, dance, and contemporary art.
Darkness Visible is described as having no fixed beginning, middle, or end.
Visitors encounter an ever-changing artwork shaped by chance and personal perception.
The installation draws from the life and work of John Gough, the Kendal-born natural philosopher who lived from 1757 to 1825.
Blinded by smallpox at the age of two, Gough developed heightened senses of touch, smell, taste, and hearing, using them to explore and document the world around him.
He conducted experiments and wrote extensively on natural philosophy, science, folklore, and the natural history of Westmorland.
The exhibition offers a contemporary counterpoint to Gough’s historical approach to perception, encouraging visitors to reconsider how they experience the world.
Sound is a central element of Darkness Visible, not as a soundtrack but as an integral, ever-shifting part of the work.
For Mills, materials, sounds, and images are not fixed but can transform, interact, and produce something unexpected, reflecting the unpredictability of the natural world.
Mr Cooper said: "What makes the installation so exciting is that it doesn’t simply ask us to passively look; it demands we slow down, listen, and completely recalibrate how we experience a space.
"Every encounter will be different, offering a constant sense of discovery.
"For Abbot Hall, it is an absolute privilege to bring together this experimental contemporary work with the history of Kendal’s ‘natural philosopher’ and invite audiences to make those connections for themselves."
Alongside Mills’ installation, Abbot Hall will present a curated display on Gough and other pioneering natural philosophers of 18th and 19th-century Westmorland.
The combined exhibitions aim to connect historical inquiry with contemporary artistic exploration.
The installation will be open from Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, as part of Abbot Hall’s standard gallery admission.
Entry includes access to all exhibitions, including Flowing from the Fells, the Ecology Gallery, and Collection Galleries.
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