Idea of North:A Fictional Visit to the Unbuilt Tyne Deck

My contribution to the Idea of North exhibition is a 700 word textual exhibit describing a fiction visit to the unbuilt architectural project, The Tyne Deck.Idea of North plays with the convention of the ‘expo’ exhibition and includes pavilions and architectural constructions that have been guest curated to connect recent regional histories with potential futures. The exhibition reflects on stories of a proud northern identity. Addressing a sense of community, place and collective belonging, Idea of North makes connections between key moments, and individual stories. Who makes the North? Who gets represented in this story? Is it a geographical location or a state of mind? These wider questions inform the exhibition. Idea of North encompasses writing, photography, music and architecture to explore ideas of sustainability and Do It Yourself culture. The enduring resilience and transforming spirit of northern identity resounds throughout the exhibition. Architectural feats of imagination from the past and present have been recreated in collaboration with Ryder Architecture. These include the restaging of an architectural model of the Tyne Deck scheme which is accompanied by new reflections and a large geodesic dome that hosts a display of 35 makers that has been guest curated by design and materials agency MaterialDriven. Idea of North also includes photographs by Chris Killip associated with The Station and a new commission from Larry Achiampong and David Blandy, exploring the iconic landscapes of Hadrian’s Wall. That we all carry our own idea of north within us, is a the theme that acts as a guiding principle for this exhibition, and serves as BALTIC’s response to this summer’s Great Exhibition of the North.