// SPECTRA 2025 //
Northern Lights Programme

6 - 9 February 2025
5.30pm - 10pm
Across Aberdeen City Centre

* FREE *

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// About //

Visitors are invited to journey into an imaginary world with Northern Lights. Led by artist Craig Barrowman, along with a commissioned line-up of 5 artists connected to the northeast, this eclectic virtual exhibition transforms public space into an immersive experience.

Using a smartphone camera to scan QR codes, audiences can explore an alternate dimension by unlocking interactive artworks within a ring of ‘doorways’ situated on Rosemount Viaduct, directly in front of His Majesty’s Theatre.

Join us in celebrating the talents of creative practitioners across various art forms, all with roots in Aberdeen. Northern Lights is commissioned and produced by Look Again Aberdeen.

Artists:
Lead artist Craig Barrowman in collaboration with commissioned artists who have a connection to the northeast -
Jonny Mowat / Christiana Messina / Simon Knox / Veronica Petukhova / Lynne Hocking

// Lead Artist //
Craig Barrowman

Craig is an artist based in Aberdeen, working in lots of different media, but recently focusing mostly on sculpture-performance projects in public space. He is interested in the ways we relate to our shared places and likes to do projects that involve spontaneous collaboration with audiences. 

Craig studied at Gray's School of Art back in the early 00s, and after some time moving around Scotland doing various arts jobs (and a bit of teaching) returned to the NE a few years ago.  He has worked with Look Again several times over the years and was really chuffed when they asked him to collaborate with them again on a commission for Spectra!

For 'Northern Lights' he is the lead artist - making an interactive augmented reality (AR) exhibition showcasing the work of 5 artists at various, inspired by Aberdeen, the NE, and Spectra’s 2025 theme ‘Journeys’. 

Craig’s role was to work with the artists to bring their ideas to life as digital artworks, which populate a virtual world layered on the real street, triggered by graphic elements of a physical installation of a ring of ‘doorways’ (reminiscent of headstones, or a stone circle - ) . This involves processing a range of digital objects and visuals created by the artists into AR-ready assets for a mobile app, so he has spent a lot of time in front of the computer, which has been challenging, but a lot of fun! This feeds in to Craigs love of learning new tools and new ways to make and share art.

Lynne Hocking
Social fabric: weaving heritage

Christiana Messina
A Tribute to the Journey of Transformation