the spiral shore

‘For all the ships that come & go, all the souls that land & leave, and all the ocean dreamers…’

The Spiral Shore is a fire installation on an epic scale, built with 2,000 outdoor candles and staged in extraordinary coastal locations or other sites of natural beauty. This meditative reflection on the changing environment illuminates the shoreline between high tides. The flames are lit collectively by members of diverse communities as a magical and ephemeral event accompanied by song and text in multiple languages.

The Spiral Shore is inspired by symbols brought to ancient Britain by migrants & settlers. Periplum’s fire installation is a temporary memorial to generations of landings and leave-takings throughout history. The installation appears during hours of darkness to be viewed by audiences from a vantage point overlooking the shoreline. The fire can be transformed to different configurations and reshaped to different landscapes. It can also be moved from place to place over consecutive nights, adding an extra dimension of wonder as it migrates the shoreline, appearing and disappearing in different locations.

The recorded soundscape brings together song, ancient and modern languages, poetry and original music. It can be accompanied by a live singer / violinist and played out through a PA, or transmitted through wireless headphones – bringing intimacy to the spectacle.

The Spiral Shore is funded by Arts Council England as part of North Sea Sirens. Commissioned in East Cleveland in 2024 by Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Additional funding from Tees Valley Combined Authority supported local creatives to train and take paid roles in the production.