Spectroscope brought Holding Time, our experimental haptic sculpture and film project, to MediaCity, Salford, for the tenth anniversary of BBC Contains Strong Language, in collaboration with the National Poetry Centre.
At its heart is a salvaged grandfather clock fitted with digital screens, sound and vibration. Inside, deaf dancer Anna Seymour moves to her own rhythm. Visitors can touch the sculpture to feel sounds drawn from its broken bells.
The accompanying film played on MediaCity’s large outdoor screens throughout the festival from 25 to 27 September 2026. It also received an additional screening following Saturday’s poetry gala in the BBC Philharmonic recording auditorium.
Alongside the work, our Deaf Time Zone invited visitors to make magic lantern slides and projected poems. Samantha Baines, who narrates the film’s poem, joined performer David Ellington and Spectroscope’s Executive Director Faye Stewart in Manchester for the festival.
Holding Time will continue to grow. We hope to gather a collection of clocks, each possessed by a different performer and a different perspective on time.
Explore Holding Time and watch the trailer on our project page.
Photo: Samantha Baines, David Ellington and Faye Stewart at BBC Contains Strong Language in Manchester.