Hadrian's Wall to become world’s longest artwork

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Published time: August 22, 2012 08:42
Edited time: August 22, 2012 12:42

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern England, Hadrian's Wall, is to become the world's longest work of art. A group of US artists will use up to 450 balloons and thousands of light emitting diodes to revamp the 2,000-year-old wall.

­The creative challenge is to suspend hundreds of white weather balloons, fitted with lights, above the 117- kilometer wall, "the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain".

Viewers will have a chance to submit their tiny messages which will be transformed into pulses of colored light passing along the wall akin to Morse code.

A digital arts collective from New York known as “YesYesNo” has been invited to the UK to transform the historic landmark built by the Romans to guard the northern frontier of their empire.

The installation is due to take place on the nights of August 31 and September 1. It  is part of the London Festival, a three-month cross-country arts feast involving up to 12,000 events staged to coincide with the Olympic and Paralympic Games.