Ring Cycle. Film screening with live soundtrack.

A subverted epic. Visionary land and soundscapes of London’s hinterlands.

Ring Cycle is an audio visual symphony that transposes Wagner’s epic cast of gods and mortals into a contemporary Thameside landscape. From river maidens on concrete barges to exiled gods and flaming shopping trolleys, an allegory of industrial capitalism occupies the fringes of London just inside its own ring of the M25.

This film with performed live score reveals Purfleet as a place where the toxic and angelic combine in a twenty-first century version of the sublime. Played by local sound artists, accompanied by the voices of the Royal Opera House community chorus, a live soundtrack recreates the swoosh of wind turbines and the cries of birds to form a collaborative call of the wild and industrial, bringing the film and place to vivid life.

A project by artist Hilary Powell - recipient of the Stephen Cripp’s Studio Award, a major creative development opportunity based at High House Production Park. Supported by The Henry Moore Foundation, High House Production Park Ltd and Stephen Cripp’s family it forms part of Acme’s Residency and Awards Programme. The project is supported by Arts Council England.