BENEATH THE BEACON
Penrith | 2016–2018

Twenty-six figures and mechanical story boxes formed an alphabet of hidden, recovered and invented town histories, distributed across thirteen venues.

Beneath the Beacon was an artist-led project developed across Penrith between 2016 and 2018 with support from Arts Council England.

Twenty-six figures and mechanical story boxes formed an alphabet of hidden, recovered and invented town histories. The works were distributed across thirteen venues, creating a dispersed exhibition beneath Penrith’s red Beacon hill.

The project grew from archival and civic research. Automata, miniature stages and sculptural figures gave physical form to lives and incidents that did not sit easily inside a single official history. Visitors encountered the work while moving through ordinary town spaces.

Hurton developed the concept, research, sculpture, automata, partnerships and public presentation. The project established an important working method: a complete public world made from records, objects, speculation and a structure that allowed them to sit together.