Fields of Vision is an immersive exterior projection created by Marcus Lyon in collaboration with St Martin-in-the-Fields.
The work, which will cover the whole church façade at its East End, explores concepts of freedom, service and community in our modern world through oral histories, large scale portraits and ancestral DNA mapping, with music by Brian Eno. The piece weaves together the narratives of 28 extraordinary individuals from across the globe, chosen by their own communities, to tell a deeper story of our interdependence and the extraordinary power of collaboration.
As the author of the work, my intention is to inspire the next generation of leaders – ML
Lyon is a British artist who has been commissioned and exhibited globally. His works are held in both private and international collections, including the Detroit Institute of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Arts Council Collection (UK) and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Washington DC. The 21st century saw his work move beyond traditional forms as he began to incorporate sound and science into his practice. He has created extensive bodies of work on dance, identity and globalisation. Outside the art world, he is also a determined social entrepreneur: A TED speaker, he currently serves as a Board Director of Somerset House and Leader’s Quest as well as supporting BLESMA and Home-Start UK as an Ambassador. He has also been a judge for the Chaiya Art Awards.
His Human Atlas projects hold a mirror up to society and encourage audiences to question their own roles and responsibilities to their communities, cities and fellow human beings. A Human Atlas is a social impact art project that brings together a specified number of nominated change agents to tell a deeper story about how we self-author and co-author a more hopeful future through portraits, interviews, soundscapes and DNA mapping.
Lyon’s third Human Atlas project was the award-winning i.Detroit, which was named Book of the Year, Best Self-Published Book and Best British Book by the British Book and Production Awards 2021. Earlier Human Atlas projects were in Brazil and Germany. All three Human Atlas projects will feature in Fields of Vision. Lyon and his team have recently begun production on their fourth Atlas, De.Coded: a Human Atlas of Silicon Valley, this book will highlight 101 change agents of the valley.
When I interviewed Lyon for Artlyst in 2020 he said his intention with the Human Atlas projects is: “to give people a chance to experience something more powerfully and with more depth. I think that’s the gift we’re trying to give. I’m very intentionally and practically building processes to help people slow down in a fast world. I think within the Human Atlas process our endeavour is to facilitate a deeper meditation on what it means to be you, what it means to be me and what it means to be we.”
He continued: “As the author of the work, my intention is to inspire the next generation of leaders to co-author their lives in honour of those who came before rather than be in their shadow. To look amongst their peers and look amongst their communities and see people who’ve stepped up and realize that they too can do it. So, I suppose it’s a call to arms, it’s a call to service. It’s saying somewhere out there, there’s a group of people, there’s an idea or an issue that you should be passionately involved with, and you need to pick up your spade and start doing some of the hard digging. That’s my hope, that these books inspire people to do the work.”
Lyon has summed up these projects by saying: “We create our Human Atlas projects to inspire new generations to see the power of social change – each large-scale portrait, inspirational oral history and DNA map allows the audience to witness the extraordinary vision of those who answer the call to serve our communities across the globe”
Fields of Vision – A Human Atlas Projection – St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Sq, WC2N 4JJ – March 5th, 6th & 7th (18:00 – 20:00). 30-minute shows from 18:00 – 20:00 in the St Martin-in-the-Fields Courtyard. Start times 6:00, 6:40 and 7:20. Admission Free.