“I’ve always been passionate about public art and the importance of free art installations. I vividly remember seeing a lot of free art as a child...”

 - Claire Luxton

Claire Luxton is a British contemporary multi-disciplinary artist working with photography, immersive installation and poetry.

Her latest work, Field of Dreams, is part of a partnership with Battersea Power Station to bring a free-to-view, botanical inspired art installation to the iconic London landmark. Suspended from the ceiling of the Power Station’s Turbine Hall A, Field of Dreams is a towering 12 metre structure made up of 33 layers of intricately printed fabric designed to explore the intrinsic connection between nature, mental health and self-awareness.

We sat down with Claire to find out more about her latest installation and how she brings together elements of the natural and the urban world in her work.

Tell me about Field of Dreams. What was the creative process?

When I started working on Field of Dreams, I knew I wanted to create an immersive installation. I’m a multidisciplinary artist and for site specific locations I always start with a lot of research, especially when it’s somewhere with such a rich history. Field of Dreams is a very layered piece, both literally and metaphorically, with lots of different elements and moving pieces. The soundscape is influenced by all the natural sounds from my studio in the countryside that I could hear whilst I was working.

A lot of it comes together simultaneously. I also write poetry when I’m creating art, and this project was a great example of each element informing the other. The whole process took around three to four months.

How did Battersea Power Station influence this process?

It’s such a huge space, and this is something I was very conscious of when developing the different sensory elements. For the suspended piece in Turbine Hall A, I started off making maquettes in my studio to try and show what was in my brain and how it would be scaled up. It started as sculpture, then became digitised, and was eventually turned back into a sculpture for the installation.

It was also important to me to bring some of the surrounding architecture into the work. When you look at the installation dead on there’s some disruption and breakup, but the spacing is the same as the Power Station columns. Although the fabric is delicate, in such an industrial space, it seems to hold its own weight.

I had the opportunity to work with the florist Moyses Stephens, who run a shop and floristry school next to the Power Station. I worked with them on what botanicals I would need, which were then brought to my studio so I could integrate them into the work. I placed the botanicals on massive sheets of glass and photographed them from high above to create images which were transposed onto the fabric. I worked in the same way for the digital videos, building the set and designs in my studio.           

I also designed the soundscape to change depending on which floor you’re on. The Power Station is on three levels, and the work traverses all three, so it encourages people to go on a journey and explore. By the time you reach the top floor you hear birds and rainfall, like you’ve moved upwards with the art.  There are a lot of different elements like this throughout the Power Station that bring the whole experience together.

What was the installation process like?

It takes a lot of time and a lot of people to make physical artwork of this size, and with the scale we were working at it was so important to make sure everyone was aligned. There has to be level of trust with the team that they can see the vision and understand how to implement it.

I had panels suspended in my studio which is a fairly large space, but nothing like the size of the Power Station! It’s actually a bit of a nerve-wracking experience as there’s only so much you can do before the day of installation, but that also makes it more exciting. I had a videographer following me during the installation and I’ve shared the process on my Instagram page, which shows the number of people involved. I was lucky to have such a great team supporting me.

You’ve created quite a few public works of art, including in iconic urban locations Leicester Square, Wembley Park and Marble Arch. How do you balance the natural world, which is such a strong theme in your work, with these urban surroundings?

I’ve always been passionate about public art and the importance of free art installations. I vividly remember seeing a lot of free art as a child, and it’s something that’s really stuck with me as I’ve developed my own work over the years. A lot of people feel that art isn’t accessible and there are often a lot of visual biases. I hope that with these sorts of installations I’m helping to democratise art. I want people to stumble upon it during their day in a way that’s pleasantly disruptive and starts conversations.

Nature in industrial spaces can be transformative, and this is something that’s always been at the heart of my practice. I make my works immersive to give people pause and allow them to experience something they might not usually. It’s been shown that just spending time in a natural or nature-enriched environment can change your brain structure. The colour green also sends relaxation signals to our brain so this was something I wanted to incorporate. I try to take all of the valuable elements I have access to working in the countryside and use them in urban spaces.

What do you hope viewers take away from Field of Dreams?

The very first time I went to Battersea Power Station was a year before Field of Dreams. I didn’t even know about the project at that point. It’s a beautiful space but very industrial, with a lot of brick, steel and concrete and not much natural light. I was standing in Turbine Hall B, and I glanced up and saw a tiny window, and through that there were big green palm leaves. This really resonated with me and remained a prominent visual.

I wanted to create my own vista, with windows and panels for people to look out into. I want to make people more aware of our pace of life, how this impacts mental health and our relationship with the natural world. There’s a juxtaposition between the natural and digital worlds, but I try to make them work in symbiosis and with better harmony. I find it interesting to use a combination of traditional and digital artistic techniques, and I hope this prompts reflection amongst people experiencing the art.

What else are you working on at the moment, and what should we look out for from your studio?

I’m working on a whole new personal collection of portraits. When I was first studying, my work was primarily sculpture, but over time it’s evolved into photography. Initially I felt like I had to specialise in one area, but once I leaned into multi-disciplinary work is when things started to flow. I’m also in the very early stages of a poetry book which I’m really excited about as that’s something I’ve wanted to share for a while.

I love working in London and doing projects in such iconic locations. I’m always so inspired by the opportunity to tell a story through the space. My dream would be to work with the Tate Modern, but we’ll see!

Claire Luxton’s Field of Dreams is at Battersea Power Station from 29 April – 16 June 2024. Find out more about the work here, and about Claire here. 

Interview by Ellen Hodgetts