Elevation Article
Rochdale, one of England’s many northern towns yet so many stories and places of interest lie here. Elevation grips both and spins a narrative of which captures Blackstone Edge’s natural beauty alongside a gaze into Rochdalian culture and its people. Through personification, Blackstone edge adopts the voice of a northern woman as she and many others describe Rochdale’s rich past and inspiring people.
The first noteworthy aspect of Elevation that must be mentioned is the breath-taking view of the borough from Blackstone edge. This vantage point made Rochdale’s less than flattering reputation when it comes to its aesthetics look picturesque alongside the backdrop of the electric jungle. This event running late also affords it some opportunities in which a sunset gets mixed in to the painting on this stunning concrete canvas. One of the focuses of Elevation, though, is the artificial landmark of The Seven Sisters flats.
These pillars of Rochdalian ingenuity are the focus of many that look at Rochdale retrospectively in terms of its past. Here, the focus is on the people and community within the Seven Sisters; or the lack thereof in this case. A true tragedy that the state of the Seven Sisters is as such as they had the potential to be a great living space for a large community to grow but instead the place has grown to reflect the current respect given to it.
However, nature was also a large aspect of this short walk. This was such to an extent that at around the halfway mark of the journey, we were asked to take a seat on one of the many chairs set up by the tour guides and take our headphones off. This brought with it a sense of shock, but in a positive way. A shock of amazement if you will. Being able to sit in silence to listen to natures melodies generated such a soothing and refreshing feeling from within. From this, we moved on to a rocky area in which a woman described to us the effects nature had on her as we returned to the audio.
The image seen above is the scenery that we were treated to while a woman describes how nature and being around Blackstone edge makes her feel. Here, her problems and anxieties of the present and future all seemed to fade away, like she had deserted her issues in the borough below. She felt like everything was going to be alright. Being in natures cradling kindness, I also began to feel this way.
Overall, Elevation was a great experience and one I would heavily recommend should it ever return. The balance created between marvelling at nature and at artificial structures was great for appreciating the entire world around us; never has concrete and steel pylons looked so elegant in natures embrace. Also, I can vouch for the quality of this event to a great extent as I have experienced this twice. If you recall from my article on Breaking Barriers’ Producers Week I mentioned this event and I can say that the second time was greater than the first.
