Norwich University of the Arts acquires Mechanism by artist Andrew Kearney

Norwich University of the Arts is delighted to announce the acquisition of Mechanism, a site-specific kinetic installation by acclaimed artist Andrew Kearney.

The acquisition has been made possible with support from Art Fund, the national charity for museums and galleries.

Mechanism was commissioned in 2024 as a temporary intervention, suspended above the Banking Hall of the University’s historic, Grade II-listed Bank Plain – a landmark building originally constructed in 1926 for Barclays Bank, that has recently been repurposed as the heart of the University’s city-centre campus.

Mechanism is a 7.6-meter responsive artwork featuring an intricate aluminium framework, LED light clusters and dichroic discs that transform the sounds of Norwich into a stunning daily light sequence.

Data collected from city sounds via directional microphones is converted into rhythm and light, creating a dynamic dialogue between the energy of the city and the serene interior of the space.

The installation explores themes of industrial heritage, contemporary space and the seamless fusion of art and architecture. It bridges Bank Plain’s storied past with its renewed purpose within the University, offering a thought-provoking reflection on its evolving role in the modern landscape.

With the final phase of the Bank Plain development underway, the acquisition of Mechanism signals the University’s ambitious plans to offer a new public space for the city, with a gallery, cafe, and enhanced access to the University’s collections and archives for innovative research and collaboration.

Commenting on the acquisition, Vice-Chancellor Simon Ofield-Kerr said:

“The acquisition of Mechanism by Andrew Kearney marks an important step for Norwich University of the Arts as an institution rapidly developing its capacity to support inter-disciplinary and experimental practice through research, exhibitions, and opportunities to create bold new work through major commissions.

“The support from Art Fund of this major acquisition validates our institutional reputation for supporting, developing, and presenting great work by outstanding artists and creative practitioners.”

Andrew Kearney’s four decades of art practice incorporates various mediums, including sound, lighting, sculpture, photography, ceramics and digital technology to explore everyday phenomena, queer culture and a world of communities under surveillance.

His installations serve as disturbances within the space they inhabit, presenting themselves as incidents as much as physical objects, and in doing so, they reveal numerous underlying and unfolding narratives by blurring the boundaries between the familiar and the unfamiliar.

Mechanism is currently available to view by appointment and will be publicly displayed in the Banking Hall of Bank Plain following completion of the third phase of the building’s development.