Previous art and media projects on Orford Ness









Orford Ness has been the home and inspiration for many art projects. Images from the projects can be seen in the gallery above. For more detail and links to audios and videos - see below.
Sensitive Chaos on Orford Ness (2019)
Antony Lyons used four rooms in the Information Building for his creative installation Sensitive Chaos. The exhibition was a work in progress and visitors could see the process of creating the final installation, which had elements in various locations around the site. See Sensitive Chaos for more information.
Michael Portillo visits Orford Ness (2018)
Podcasts by Bethany Hughes

Podcasts by Bettany Hughes
Listen to historian Bettany Hughes as she explores ten inspiring National Trust sites including Orford Ness. She is guided by our experts and investigates their deep-rooted connections to Europe and the wider world.
A workshop on sound (July 2017)
A workshop lead by Chris Watson and Jez Riley French in July 2016 has just been condensed into a programme for framework radio. Listen to the recording and learn more about their work here.
Anglia Mist (June 2017)
Stuff of Dreams Theatre Company presented the premier of this play on Orford Ness on 24 June followed by two performances on 25. Hidden secrets, dark conspiracies counter-intelligence and spies were the order of the day for “Anglian Mist” - Stuff of Dreams’ excellent 2017 production.
This was a psychological thriller as a long-hidden cold war plot was brought kicking and screaming into the light of day with chilling consequences for all involved.
Inspired by the vast concrete pagodas and the desolate beauty of Orford Ness and held in the atmospheric Armoury, this play opened with an immersive theatre experience on the Ness itself and then later toured the eastern region.
One and All: A voyage through sight, sound and sea (2015)
was a Trust New Art commission by three leading artists working across sound, poetry and art. One of the artists, Martyn Ware, commissioned a portable beach hut to capture stories from the public. Orford Ness hosted the beach hut for a short period in the summer of 2015.
After touring the country, the beach hut resided at Somerset House during the Autumn. Martyn, along with film maker Benjamin Wigley, has taken these recordings and incorporated them into an audio visual experience.
Read more about this national project.
SNAP - Art at the Aldeburgh Festival (2014)
Inspired by the landscape on which the British military conducted its early experiments in flight, Scottish-born artist Anya Gallaccio created a new installation for the Aldeburgh Festival’s SNAP visual arts programme during June 2014 at Orford Ness. This was part of the Artists in Residence programme.
Using images of imploded material taken from the site, original aerial photography from the Imperial War Museums’ archive and the region’s constantly shifting shingle landscape, Gallaccio created a spectacular installation and series of photographic images that draw on her fascination with the properties of organic matter and the forces of decay and destruction
Blind Landing
An artwork created at Orford Ness in 2013 by Jane and Louise Wilson and filmed by Ben Wigley. The title refers to the Experimental Unit that was operational during the cold war period. See the video.
Stormbeach
A sound-work by Chris Watson, recorded on location Orford Ness in 2012 in response to the Stormbeach Chapter in Robert Macfarlane's "The Wild Places".