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Replica relic on a mighty scale
Electronic Print Services (EPS) is to produce a life sized replica of the Minster’s famous Great East Window, which features the world’s largest expanse of medieval stained glass, to hide scaffolding while the window itself is being restored.
The restoration could take up to 10-years and is part of the York Minster Revealed (YMR) project which has just won £10 million worth of lottery funding and is part of a £30 million development campaign by the cathedral
EPS’ managing director, Steve Farley, said: “Rather than have visitors to the cathedral stare at scaffolding for the next 10-years, we have been working with project organisers at York Minster to develop a solution that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing.”
The result is one of the most ambitious print jobs ever undertaken, a 14 by 27m single graphic that will be erected in front of the scaffolding inside the cathedral. An exact copy of the 15th century stained glass window will be printed on the screen, recreating the window’s beauty for visitors to the cathedral.
Steve added: “It is a massive undertaking. The sheer physical size of the screen presents a lot of technical difficulties, but I thrive on challenges such as this.
“We will be working very closely with the York Minster team to ensure the graphic reproduction of the window is as close to perfect as possible, using the most advanced large format printing technology to create the replica on a new hardwearing vinyl called Epiflex.”
It is not the first time that Steve has recreated a national treasure. In September 2007 his Wyther Lane printworks was transformed into a private art gallery brimming with masterpieces by the likes of Botticelli, Van Gogh and Gainsborough. They were produced as part of the National Gallery and Hewlett Packard’s Grand Tour project.
Steve continued: “As with that project, we need to reproduce the Great East Window with 100 per cent accuracy. But this time we are doing it on a scale never before attempted which is going to challenge printing technology at a whole new level.”
Scaffolding of the Great East Window (created by John Thornton who was regarded as the finest glass painter of his time) begins in January with the replica screen due to be in place by March 2008.
The window itself originally took three years to make, cost just £56 and was completed in 1408. Restoring it could take up to a decade, will cost around £6.5 million and represents the biggest job ever undertaken in the 40-year history of the York Glaziers Trust.
YMR project director, Louise Hampson, said: “Limited space and expertise dictate the pace of progress this time round so we will be taking on a number of apprentices in the Glaziers Trust and are developing a nationally recognised qualification for glaziers.
“Producing and erecting the screen is an incredibly ambitious undertaking but the perfect solution to hiding the scaffolding while also maintaining the visual impact of the Great East Window. We have worked with Steve on a number of different projects and have always found him full of innovative ideas in terms of using the very latest print technologies to enhance projects that ensure our heritage is captured in unique and engaging ways.”
