The Ballad of Crown Point Bridge

The Ballad of Crown Point Bridge is a sonic artwork created with the people and water of Leeds.

Crown Point Bridge spans the water of the River Aire just shy of the end of Leeds Liverpool Canal. In the soft underbelly of the bridge, where the light doesn’t shine and the sounds of city life are condensed, recordings of people’s voices join with the sounds of the city’s water to make a new ballad for Leeds.

Steering 127 miles across the Pennine Hills, The Leeds & Liverpool Canal is the longest enclosure of UK water. Depending on your view, the canal can be seen as an incredible engineering feat or a vast act of control enabling the extraction of natural resources.

The graffiti marks on the underside of Crown Point Bridge speak of the social impacts of austerity, tracing the assault that city life can be.

This is a site of continual movement, where water and people try to make their presence felt. Activated by movement sensors, The Ballad of Crown Point Bridge pulls together words, water and echoes to try to negotiate a different social contract between the environment, the city and its inhabitants.

The Ballad of Crown Point Bridge is by artist Amy Sharrocks with sound designer Tom Hackley, part of Museum of Water.

A Compass Festival commission. Supported by Leeds Waterfront Enhancement Fund and IVE. With thanks to The Geraldine Connor Foundation.