Watershed is currently hosting The Magician's Desk, the outcome of one of our Studio Artists Residencies, created and presented by Mecurial Wrestler. The installation forms part of their research into how people respond to and experience magical inventions and how they make sense of an illusionary narrative.

The Magician's Desk invites visitors to Watershed to take a seat behind the red curtain in the Foyer and to discover the secrets that lie hidden at the back of the drawer. It is a place of 'trickery and intrigue, where magic and illusions are triggered as part of an intimate personal experience.'

The installation is located in Watershed's Box Office (until Mon 14 June), takes about five minutes and is free to try out. The artists will be on hand to guide you through the experience between 11.00 - 16:00hrs.

Mecurial Wrestler are artists Jay Kerry & Becca Gill who joined the residency scheme as a newly formed partnership. They are using this opportunity to experiment with illusions invented by magicians and engineers in the 19th and early 20th century and reinvent these utilising film, performance and pervasive technologies. They're looking to maintain the aesthetic of 19th century illusions whilst creating 21st century narratives within site-specific installations.

The scheme was commissioned by Watershed to support projects at the juncture of art, pervasive technologies and culture.

Watch Becca and Jay talk about their project over on DShed.

FFI: pmstudio.co.uk/project/artists-residencies

This programme is supported by Arts Council England.