Sky Arts Art 50
ProjectsNews ArchiveAboutHome

'Ladders of Light: A Constitution for the UK ' by Mary Branson

A unique collaboration between the award-winning poet and broadcaster Lemn Sissay and fine artist Mary Branson, the Ladders of Light installation in Salisbury Cathedral explores the possibility of a ‘new charter' for the UK when we leave Europe. Branson’s ethereal, illuminated ladders are a metaphor for his words. A snakes-and-ladders pathway to a more just and equal society, the Ladders of Light installation carries the observer both up and down, crossing divides and overcoming barriers, reacting to movement and temperature by changing slowly in colour and intensity. A powerful blend of poetry and visual art, the work both mirrors the grandeur and aspiration inherent in the Cathedral's Gothic architecture and conveys the fragility of our community. Ladders of Light is curated by Jacquiline Creswell, Salisbury Cathedral’s Visual Arts adviser, and can be seen at the Cathedral from from 5th February - 3rd April.

MARY BRANSON specialises in creating conceptual large scale installations, using sculpture, light and sound. Following a first class honours degree in Fine Art and an MA, she became Artist in Residence at the Houses of Parliament, researching the archives of the Suffrage movement, with a brief to produce a proposal for a new permanent artwork for the Palace of Westminster ‘New Dawn’ revealed on June 7th 2016.

curator_jacquiline_creswell-_poet_lemn_sissay_and_artist_mary_branson_at_the_launch_of_ladders_of_light-_a_new_constitution.jpg
ladders_of_light_by_mary_branson_-_photo_by_ash_mills.jpg
Ladders of Light: A Constitution for the UK

You can see this and other examples of Mary's work here

The other projects

brand_identities_website_image.jpg
'ReBranding Britishness' by Common Vision
by_john_minihan_2.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- Northern Ireland' by Paul McVeigh
website_pic.jpg
Art 50 Gathering
jasleen_141_rs.jpg
'Daughter of a Perpetual Foreigner' by Jasleen Kaur
boyblue_website_pic.jpg
'R.E.B.E.L' by Boy Blue
jack_cockers_on_shoot_image_for_social_media-1.jpg
'Me, My Nan and Oldham' by Connor Coulston
kuba_by_janina_sabaliauskaite_3.jpg
'Sweet Dreams' by Kuba Ryniewicz
lemn_sissay_with_his_poem_magniloquent_cartilage-_part_of_ladders_of_light-_a_new_constitution_for_the_uk_-photo_by_zachary.jpg
'Magniloquent Cartilage: A Constitution for the UK' by Lemn Sissay MBE
st_ives_website_pic.jpg
'St. Ives' by D.A. Nixon
split_britches_image_from_barbican.jpg
'Unexploded Ordinances' By Split Britches
cardigan.png
'School Britannia' - 'Cardigan's Corner Shop'
rose_davies_big_drawing.jpg
'Here Be Dragons: A New British Flag' by Rosie Scribblah
one_pic.jpg
'Shepherding the Uplands' by Phil Hatcher-Moore
group_photo_tbai-1.jpg
'Let Me Play The Lion Too' by Told by an Idiot
version_2.jpg
'Come Hell or High Water' by The Citizens Theatre
an_taoidann_ban-2.png
'School Britannia' - 'An t-Aodann Ban' (Fair Hill Face)
tiai_landscape_with_titles_1800_x_900.jpg
'This is an Island?' by DanceXchange
mg_9602-1.jpg
'Window Wanderland' by Lucy Reeves Khan
nye_thompson_-_press_shot.jpg
INSULAE [Of the Island] by Nye Thompson
maddogs_website_pic.jpg
'Mad Dogs' by Gadzooks
capture.jpg
'When We Collide: A British Songbook' by Hanbury & Groves
huntington_gardens_actors_on_shoot-1.png
'Huntington Gardens' by Simon and Paul Wade
kyle_1-1.jpg
'Postcard from the Future - Wales'
big_sing_website_pic.jpg
'Spirit of Our Nation' by Peter Brewis and Sharon Durant
2_sides-1.png
'School Britannia' - '2 Sides'
britbot_website_pic.jpg
'Britbot' by Libby Heaney
his_england_still_2_159045-1.jpg
'His England' by Matty Crawford and Joe Argent
5_-_shaq_-min.jpg
'We Are British' by Rio Blake
the-scary-bikers-web-1.jpg
'The Scary Bikers' by John Godber OBE
dreda_say_mitchell.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- England' by Dreda Say Mitchell and Tony Mason
ehlu8qdg-1.jpeg
'Declaration of Independence' by Barby Assante
44439650_1763665660412301_749853275043800064_n.jpg
UnFOLD: Hope and Water by Lyrix Organix
border-_promo.png
'BORDER- A VR Ride' by Abigail Conway and Laura Collier
the_brink_1s.png
'The Brink' by Simon Armitage CBE
img_9929.jpg
'Empire' by Sarah Maple
edinburgh-1.png
'School Britannia'- Edinburgh
lab_and_chi_2.png
'Automat' by Lab Ky Mo and Chi Thai
i_am_from_2.png
'School Britannia' - 'I Am From'
boris_website.jpg
'The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson' by Jonathan Maitland
Nitin Sawhney presents Brexit - A Rational Anthem for a National Tantrum
'BREXIT: A Rational Anthem for a National Tantrum' by Nitin Sawhney CBE
bowler_hat_orange_-_from_her-1.jpg
'And The Band Keeps Marching On' by Martha Barnett
schoolbritannia.jpg
'School Britannia' - Poetry Anthology
website_pic.jpg
'Backbone of Our Land' by Folkworks
website_pic.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- Scotland' by Al Kennedy
hania_amar_2.jpg
'Stock' by Naqqash Khalid
youth_manifesto-_website-1.jpg
'Youth Manifesto' by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and featuring Gustavo Dudamel
dufftown_2.jpg
'Dogs and their Owners' by Dougie Wallace
crew_pic.jpg
'Small Town Politics' by Gulliver Moore and Oliver Clubb
brutish_mul1.gif
'The Battle of Heptonstall' by The Brutish Multitude