On the record: Luke Jerram

A Manchester cityscape at nighttime with bright columns of light visible next to the Factory International building. — Lee Baxter

Artist Luke Jerram sits down with Factory International producer Jodie Ratcliffe to get under the skin of Luke’s new project, First Breath. As lead producer, Jodie knows First Breath inside out – from the mesmerising installation lighting up Manchester skies in January 2023, to the long-term engagement with expectant families, and the behind-the-scenes work that brings an artwork to life. Brought together in conversation, Luke shares his inspirations both personal and universal – from the home birth of his daughter to humanity’s fascination with light.

Jodie Ratcliffe: Let’s go back to the beginning. How and why did you become an artist in the first place? What was it that drew you to making artwork?

Luke Jerram: When I was at university and even before then, when I was at school, I had a real interest in finding out how things worked – in science and engineering. I also really liked making art and music, and so I found I had a choice to make when going to university – to study engineering or to study art. I decided to go to art college. A lot of the artwork that I make still reflect my interest in science and my love of engineering.

Jodie: Have you always been interested in making public artwork?

Luke: Yes, I've always been interested in taking my artwork outside of the traditional spaces. Some of my artwork is in museums and works well in those spaces, but what I find really exciting is when I install an artwork outdoors for people to experience on the streets.

One of the first artworks I became known for internationally was my project Play Me I’m Yours which involves placing pianos across cities for people to play. The street pianos become a blank canvas for the public’s creativity. As well as watching the creativity the project brings, I like the way a street piano has the ability to connect strangers in a city – the project has even led to several marriages where people have fallen in love after meeting for the first time around a piano. Some musicians have even been ‘discovered’ whilst performing on a street piano and been offered recording contracts as a consequence. A good arts project will have these unexpected outcomes and so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when First Breath is presented and how it connects people across Manchester.

Luke Jerram, a male artist stood in front of a close up of a moon crater artwork

Jodie: I think, with public artwork, the same person could have very different experiences even throughout one day, couldn't they? Which is similar to First Breath, and brings us nicely to talk about the project and where the idea sprang from.

Luke: So First Breath was an idea that came from the birth of my daughter, which was actually 16 years ago – so it's taken 16 years to finally realise this artwork! During the heatwave of summer 2006, we had a home birth, and I remember there were three people in the room: myself, my wife and the midwife. After nine months of waiting and three days of labour, suddenly my daughter was born. Now there were four people in the room... When our daughter took her first breath there was this huge sense of relief. It was an incredibly profound moment for everybody.

My neighbour gave birth just two days later and I thought how interesting that was – that people were going through the same thing, at the same time. First Breath is about revealing and connecting those disconnected communities that are going through a similar experience at the same time. It’s amazing to think that in Greater Manchester every day there are on average 78 births across the region.

What I find really exciting is when I install an artwork outdoors for people to experience on the streets.

Luke Jerram

Jodie: I think it's beautiful. And I've had the hands-on experience of meeting some of these people who live in different boroughs of Greater Manchester who are expecting a child in January 2023 who Factory International will work with through their child’s early years. And as you say, it’s this miraculous shared moment, but it's also so personal to each family and each journey. With First Breath, you can walk through the lights and look up to the sky and get that very up-close experience, or you can see them from afar in the city and you get a completely different perspective. So even with the light installation itself, not just with the participants, you can see those different ranges of scales and perspectives. You mentioned that you've had the idea for First Breath for around 16 years. Why do you think that now is the right moment for it?

Luke: Well, initially we were going to create First Breath with one beam of light outside each house where a baby had just arrived. So there would be vertical beams of lights at 78 different locations across Greater Manchester each evening. They would then move each day, for the next evenings declaration and celebration. But we realised that was difficult because just one beam of light would be really hard to see. And so the project developed to have all of those beams of light in one location, which is the site of the new Factory International building.

Back when my daughter was born it was harder to get hold of sustainable technology. So 16 years ago, it would have been much harder to deliver this project, because we would have had to use mercury lights powered by massive generators which are not very good for the environment. Now feels like the right time for this project because technology has advanced and we're able to get hold of sustainable LED lights that are really bright, but also use far less power.

This is the right moment for First Breath because it's marking not only the first gasp of breath of these young people, the future generation, but also the opening of what will become an incredible new arts space in Manchester.

A photograph of a baby staring up in wonder at the night sky

Jodie: Yeah, it’s a really exciting time to present First Breath in Greater Manchester, because we're on the precipice of the new Factory International building opening and it's being presented on the first day of the first month of a new year. So it feels like a culmination of all those things coming together to celebrate firsts. That idea of celebration, especially in the dark depths of winter, got me thinking about how a lot of winter festivals celebrate with light. What made you want to work with light for First Breath?

Luke: As a sculptor, I've always been fascinated by light – by the ephemeral and three dimensional nature of it, but also by the way mankind has used light in different ways throughout history. Since the very beginnings of time, we would have been drawn to the light of a fire and we would have all gathered around this central point of light and warmth. This way, light signifies human settlement and community. Light pushes away the darkness around it and with it the unknown.

I would like for young people, for everyone, to know that this place is theirs. Factory International is for them to use, to figure out, grow into, learn from and to enjoy.

Luke Jerram

Jodie: What message would you like to send out to Greater Manchester and the world with the lights and with First Breath?

Luke: I want the people of Greater Manchester to know that they're in an extraordinary city with an exciting building about to be opened. I'm from Bristol and we have lots of old theatres and art spaces which are fine, but are nothing on the scale of Factory International which is a hugely ambitious brand-new space made for the people of Manchester. Factory International is a cultural venue of international standing, a space we in Bristol could only dream of! I would like for young people, for everyone, to know that this place is theirs. Factory International is for them to use, to figure out, grow into, learn from and to enjoy.

And for the families expecting babies – I want them to connect with one another and feel connected to the new theatre.

Actually, can I ask you a question on this – what responses have you had from the people you’ve met? Because this project is unique in that the light installation will happen in the month of January, but the relationship between families with babies that have been born in January 2023 and Factory International will continue for the coming years.

Jodie: Yes, so I have direct contact with quite a lot of the families we’re working with. We’ve hosted activities and events for them to bring them together in person as they go through this journey that’s so universal yet so unique to them. I’ve been lucky enough to meet them and hear about their pregnancy journeys and the overarching sense that comes up from all of the people I talk to is how beautiful it is. We’ve been working with an amazing researcher called Dr Katherine Taylor and she's been doing a lot of work looking at the impact that creativity, arts and culture has on early years development. That’s something that we’ll be drawing on as we work with Greater Manchester families through their early years – making sure that they’re a part of Factory International, and that they’re connected to arts and culture from their first breath.

First Breath runs from 1 to 29 January 2023. Find out more about the installation and plan your visit here. The installation marks the beginning of a longer-term engagement project with expectant families across the region. If you’re from Greater Manchester and expecting a baby in January 2023, we’d love to hear from you. Find out more about how you can get involved here.

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