Pontis

Pontis has captured the public imagination both locally and nationally as an original and relevant permanent public art project. The town of Wallsend retains its Roman identity both in its name and in the remains of Segedunum, the fort at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. Pontis, a Latin word referring to a 'bridge', links this Roman past with the twentyfirst century in a subtle, witty and thought-provoking way. Installations at the Metro station and in the Museum have been enthusiastically received.
11,977 visitors to Segedunum and an estimated 583,416 Metro users were encouraged to view their surroundings in a fresh manner with users of the Metro system embraced as a new audience - an outreach beyond the Museum into the wider, urban environment.
Pontis was an exhibition showcasing an innovative and dynamic permanent public art project for Wallsend.The broader project, also entitled Pontis, is part of the Lottery- funded Art on the Riverside programme taking place in the Tyne and Wear area. North Tyneside Arts and Nexus, the body which runs the Tyne and Wear Metro system, jointly commissioned artist Michael Pinsky to create a contemporary art concept linking Wallsend Metro Station with nearby Segedunum,the Roman fort at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall.
Michael Pinsky has a strong track record of projects that explore ideas of transport, architecture, urban design and space, often with a key element of humour.Pontis, a Latin word, is an appropriate title, not only for its obvious Roman connection but also in translation: it refers to a 'bridge', underlining the aim of the project to create a physical, spatial, visual and psychological link between the Metro station and Segedunum.
The Pontis exhibition, displayed at Segedunum from 3rd February until 6th May 2003, provided the opportunity to bring the threads of the wider project together.H Murus was the centrepiece.This is a large map showing Hadrian's Wall and the main Roman road network in the north of England, in the style of the Tyne and Wear Metro map - a very familiar format to local people, transformed to provide unexpected information and a subtle bridge between past and present.
Forty slide viewers were hung in the gallery in a tram line display, as an interactive exhibit, again echoing the connection with the Metro line. The viewers contained images drawn by Key Stage 2 schoolchildren who had worked in groups with Michael as part of an artist-in-residence programme the previous summer. The children drew pictures of their journey to Segedunum-what they saw and the mode of transport that they had used. Inspired by the view from the tower, they also drew pictures illustrating how they would like to have travelled  an imaginary journey to the Museum. Here again Michael was working on the themes of history and travel, interlinked through people's perceptions.
The exhibition also contained a series of digitised photographs taken around Wallsend, with the text on road signs, shops, advertising posters etc. all translated into Latin by Professor Donald Hill from the Classics Department at the University of Newcastle.This again created a bold and witty blend of the ancient and modern,particularly when there is no Latin equivalent for certain modern word and phrases. The Jobcentre became the Fo rum Venalicium (slave market) and Woolworths became Domus Lana Dignorum (the house of those worthy of wool).The photographs were originally published in the Metro newspaper and a public competition was held for the finest translations.
Selections from some of Michael's previous commissions, including pictures and computer interactives,were placed alongside the new work to illustrate the development of his ideas.
Pontis merged and amplified the various elements of the wider public project. A copy of the H Murus map is mounted at the station, near the actual Metro map. A number of the 'Latinised' photographs of Wallsend are displayed. As a particularly fun element,numerous standard Metro station signs have been modified to give both Latin and English text, such as Noli Fumare / No Smoking. This permanent public art project develops the station platform environment and makes the work and ideas accessible to a wide audience.Awareness of Segedunum has been raised amongst Metro passengers and through the exhibition Museum visitors have been encouraged to view the installations at the Metro station.
Pontis has captured the imagination both locally and nationally. When the project was officially launched back in March there were prominent articles in a number of the leading national newspapers. A list highlighting the diverse nature of this media coverage is given below. The endurance of the theme in the public consciousness was recently demonstrated during an episode of the longrunning television quiz show, University Challenge, broadcast on 6th October. One of the bonus rounds on the programme featured some of the Latin translations of wellknown Geordie phrases - an exercise originally generated in the media by the Pontis publicity.
Michael Pinsky's website,w, features a section on Pontis where many of the images from the project are displayed, together with explanations and public responses drawn from the newspaper articles.
Pontis continues to evolve as an accessible and entertaining concept that reaches out beyond the Museum to embrace the immediate environment.There are plans to replace some of the walls on the Metro platform with glass, thus creating a 'viewing platform' looking towards Segedunum. This will be enhanced by a proposed lighting link between the two buildings, which is due to be completed by the end of 2003.H Murus is on permanent display in the Museum foyer and remains an important talking point for visitors.Copies of the image are on sale as a limited edition poster.The large numbers of visitors walking the new Hadrian's Wall National Trail,which links together the Roman forts named on the map,has further stimulated public interest in the artwork.