Artist explains "emotional" connection to Salcombe's stunning Field of Light installation

We were lucky enough to speak to Bruce Munro, the artist behind Salcombe's Field of Light installation that celebrates the RNLI's 200th anniversary. 

Bruce Munro, the artist behind the stunning Field of Light that is glowing across Salcombe for the next few months, spoke to us on the first night of the art installation, when he said he was dealing with "first night nerves". 

He said: "Lots of volunteers coming together to make this happen, with my team, my team back at base and the RNLI. These things always take lots of people working together to bring it to life."

Salcombe's Field of Light - credit Bruce Munro 

You are donating the Field of Light, why did you choose to support the RNLI in their 200th anniversary year?  

"The RNLI is a community charity that really brings people together in a very unique way. It really has a spirit of community and from my point of view, the older I get, the more I realise how important we are to each other. From a scientific perspective it is obvious that we need community, but we live in a very ego-based world, and it can be quite depressing, so doing this and to come across a community working together ‘live’ has been great. 

"We are a coastal nation, and the RNLI is one of last bastions of truly community-based charity and long may it last."

Why choose Salcombe? 

"I grew up here, my father and my grandfather lived here so I spent half of my life in Essex with my mother and where I went to school and then the other half was in Salcombe. 

"As I grew up, I worked at Dusters and the Tides Reach and the Ferry and when I was working at Dusters, my boss Mike was part of the crew, and he was part of the crew that capsized on a shout in 1983. I knew him and a lot of the crew, and they nearly died.

"It really came home to me that the crews put their necks on the line, often for people who have been a bit daft, and they do it all as volunteers. It really got under my skin then and I ran the Athens Marathon in 1983 for the RNLI.

Bruce running the Athens Marathon in 1983 

"We keep coming back to Salcombe, I bring the family here, and we always camp and have real bucket and spade holidays. 

"We tried to make this installation happen in 2015, but we couldn’t get everyone fully on board, so when I started talking to Philip (Ward, fundraising chair) about doing it again this year, everyone has been incredibly supportive."

Where did the inspiration for the Field of Light installations come from? 

"I was in Australia in 1992, travelling around the outback with an old car and a tent and me and my girlfriend at the time, now wife, came to Uluru (Ayres Rock). I’d been working with light anyway and I had my sketchbook with me and in that space, it felt like the air and the ground were alive. 

"Since we were camping, we were going to bed with the sun and getting up with the sun and this idea really got into my head. So, when we came back to England, I had no kids yet and no job, so I really wanted to bring this idea to life. My wife told me I needed to get a job first, so I started a business lighting houses and gardens for people. Then we bought a derelict farmhouse, but it had a field, and I could finally create my Field of Light. 

"A year later I was asked to put it in the window of Harvey Nicks in London and the V&A Museum in 2003, and then in The Holburne Museum in Bath. Then we got the opportunity to work in a garden in the states that was like Kew, and I was like a kid in a sweet shop. 

"But since then, it has been all over the world and it even got brought back to the place that inspired it all, Uluru. 
Bringing it back to Salcombe has felt like full circle as well, here is where I used to paint as a kid.

"My dad has a bench in Cliff House Gardens and that is one of the best places to see the Field of Light from. My dad never got to see any of my stuff so this time he’ll be able to see it – its really emotional." 

Sensorio Paso Robles: Bruce Munro's art installation in California, USA - ChrisGoldNY Flickr 

How does the project change as the location changes? 

"Each installation is different, and the Field of Light itself changes with the landscape and the palette is different in each location too – we want it to be in sync with the celestial lights.

"Here it is a very gentle, mist of light. The plan was always to create something where the place will change, and it changes the place. 

"In some of the installations people can get into the area, walk around and become a part of it, but here in Salcombe it is designed to be a gentle reminder in the background to mark the 200th anniversary of the RNLI. 

How would you like the Salcombe Field of Light to be interpreted? 

"I feel like the Field of Light is a living thing, like it was a gift that was given to me. Everyone can have their own interpretation. When it comes to my art, I never want to tell people what to feel or what they ‘should’ feel, art can get very up its own bum when it comes to that interpretation, and I think it puts people off.

"I want kids to get involved in art and know that if I can do it, they can do it. Art is a language, and it is a great way to communicate and bring people together."

Jayne George, fundraising director for the RNLI, explained that running the Salcombe station costs £250,000. 

She said: "We are an island nation; it gets into our psyche. The sea has given us so much, its fed us, given us jobs, given us lives, protected us, so I think we can automatically relate to the sea and the RNLI. 

"Support for the RNLI is very intergenerational too, people’s parents and grandparents supported the RNLI, so they continue to do so. And it is very tangible for donors too, they can tour the stations, see the lifeboats, see the kit, meet the crews. 

"RNLI Beach Lifeguards (since 2001) are a new set of role models for young people. A group of young and very talented people who protect people closer to shore."

You can sponsor a light in the Field of Light installation and dedicate it to whoever you'd like, via the Salcombe RNLI website at: salcombefieldoflight.com/donate/ 

You can see the Salcombe Field of Light until 10 January 2025. 

Main image: Salcombe's Field of Light credit Bruce Munro