Tornado - Fiona Banner - Great North Run Culture

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Fiona Banner : Tornado

Tornado is a new temporary public artwork by Turner Prize nominee Fiona Banner. Banner has transformed a decommissioned RAF Tornado plane into a large single bell which can be rung by all who encounter it. Bells are powerful social instruments embedded in many of our most important rituals; from the celebratory, as markers of time, as a warning, a clarion call to action, to the sound of mourning. Whether chiming or silent, Tornado is a metaphor for the possibilities and understanding of change.

Tornado was cast in Loughborough by the world renowned John Taylors Bell Foundry.

Tornado is situated next to the River Tyne at the Hillgate Quay in Gateshead (next to the Swing Bridge). Open to the public for six weeks, it also formed part of the Cultural Olympiad’s Open Weekend of 24-25 July.

Co-commissioned with Locus+