SUB-TROPICAL seas, ancient print patterns and a 40-metre-long moving image walkway are just some of the diverse elements which come together for a dynamic arts project in Rouken Glen next month.

The south side park will be transformed by light, fire, music and sound by one of the creative talents behind the Tower of London’s spectacular ceramic poppy display in 2014.

Phil Supple was part of the creative team involved in Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red, which saw 888,246 ceramic poppies – one to mark each British military death during World War One - gradually fill up the famous landmark’s moat.

“It was an honour to be involved,” he said. “It was a great example of the power well-delivered public art has to connect with people on an emotional level, rather than simply being a spectacle.”

Phil, who has worked on Scottish projects for more than 20 years, is back in Glasgow for Electric Glen, a magical night-time tour of Rouken Glen park which will run from February 4 to 14.

The route – which will include references to the fascinating history and unique geology of the park – begins and ends at the boating pond, winding its way through the gorge and alongside the Auldhouse Burn.

In the course of researching the show, Supple discovered links between Rouken Glen’s geology and an ancient sub-tropical sea, and found original pattern samples from Thornliebank Printworks, dating back to 1814.

“Rouken Glen is a mecca for geologists because it contains rocks and fossils you can only see in a handful of places in the world,” explains Phil.

“It dates back hundreds of millions of years, when this part of Scotland was near the equator.”

He smiles: “It’s probably the only time Scotland and ‘sub-tropical’ can be mentioned in the same sentence.

“Our route will go past the burn, where you can clearly see the layers of limestone. In the last two years, work has started on clearing away some of the invasive vegetation that exists here, so the rocks are more visible.”

The Auldhouse burn, which forms an important part of the project’s ‘electric trail’, once powered Thornliebank Printworks which was owned – like the park itself – by the Crum family.

“Two years ago, while researching for Electric Glen, I came across a pattern book from the printworks in the Gallery of Costume in Manchester,” explains Phil. “It had hundreds of pattern samples, dating back to 1814.

“We’ve worked with a contemporary printmaker, Hazel Dunn, who is a graduate of Glasgow School of Art, to project these pattern images on to the path beside the burn itself, and the result is an amazing moving walkway combining history and heritage with state of the art digital technology.”

Phil adds: “"The fact that this technology is now available means we can stage these events in wonderful outdoor spaces but I’m particularly interested in the stories behind the places.”

Working on outdoor arts projects brings an element of risk – particularly in rainy, cold Glasgow in February.

Phil smiles: “As an outdoor artist, you give up control of your environment. If you are in a gallery or a theatre, you know you are in charge of lighting and noise levels but you lose that when you work outside.

“I think you find your way in outdoor arts only when you can cope with that level of chance.”

He adds: “But what you gain is the opportunity to create something really special, something magical that you simply can’t do indoors.”

And while you’d be forgiven for thinking Glasgow’s weather would work against it in the world of outdoor arts events, the opposite is true according to Phil.

“I’ve worked on many projects in Glasgow since 1998 and the city has an incredible track record, on a UK and European level, in the outdoor arts,” he says, crediting particular organisations such as UZ Arts and nva, with whom he has worked previously.

“More and more people are realising that enjoying the outdoors is about more than mountain-biking and Munros – it can also be about taking walks in interesting places.”

Phil has teamed up with Derek Allan of Allan Associates and Phil O'Halloran from NL Productions – who staged the awardwinning Enchanted Forest in Pitlochry – for Electric Glen, which also features work by digital artists Novak who have provided visuals for Calvin Harris.

Phil says: “Rouken Glen has been given a makeover in recent months courtesy of the Heritage Lottery Fund Parks staff and we're aiming to show it off in the best way possible in February.”

He smiles: “We’re looking forward to bringing light and life to the dark winter months in one of the west of Scotland's most beautiful parks.”

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