A RENOWNED artist from County Durham who made waves with a paper bridge strong enough to hold a car is creating a brand new installation inspired by waterfalls of the River Tees.

Steve Messam, Newbiggin, in Teesdale, will transform three simple whitewashed barns into a unique artwork this autumn called Waterfall.

It is part of what Durham County Council describes as its fresh approach to visual arts and will draw on the rich history, geography and characteristics of the area around it.

“In this area you have the barns on one side of the road and Low Force waterfall on the other,” said Mr Messam. “This installation brings those two significant elements of the landscape together and makes people think about them in conjunction with each other.

“The two elements are inextricably connected - the barns are made from local stone, which has come from the ground here, the same ground that the water is flowing over and eroding to create the waterfalls.”

The environmental artist will film each of the waterfalls of the River Tees - Cauldron Snout, High Force and Low Force - in high definition, slow motion video.

These will then be projected onto all four sides of three whitewashed barns that cascade down the hillside to the east of Bowlees Visitor Centre, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, wrapping them in what looks like slow motion pulses of water.

He added: “I will be filming each of the waterfalls in real time, but these films will be slowed down by about 20 times so that you can really see the power of the water in a way that just isn’t possible with the human eye.”

The exhibition is designed to take art beyond the confines of a traditional gallery space and directly out into the community.

“There is something wonderful about creating a piece of art that sits in the middle of the landscape it is inspired by,” said Mr Messam. “Galleries certainly have their place and purpose in the world of art, but installations like this invite people, who may not normally engage with art, to come along and experience something new.

“Being outdoors, people can be really vocal about how the artwork makes them feel and discuss it with those around them without feeling the confines and behavioural requirements of a gallery upon them.”

Waterfall will be accompanied by a series of workshops delivered by the North Pennines AONB Partnership with local primary schools exploring the local landscape and geology.

Last year Mr Messam gained recognition for designing bridges made out of paper. The Lake District first played host to a 4.5 tonne, 22,000-sheet creation which straddled two sides of a river in the Grisedale Valley, near Patterdale.

Using 100 per cent recycled red paper from Cumbria-based specialist James Cropper Plc the bridge took a team just one-and-a-half days to construct it.

Mr Messam then pulled off a bigger stunt with 54,390 pieces of paper which formed a bridge strong enough to take the weight of the three tonne Range Rover Vogue as part of an event in China to mark 45 years of Range Rover production.

Waterfall, which coincides with the 200th anniversary of English Romanticist William Turner visiting the valley, will show on October 14,15 and 16 and again on October 21, 22 and 23.