Jo Millett, the 2007 artist in residence at the Castle, will be speaking on Tuesday, March 18 at 2pm about her work.

For two months last summer, Hull-based video artist Jo Millett immersed herself in life at Knaresborough Castle. She looked at how people use the place and examined the physical nature of the site. She gathered hours of audio and visual material, using video, sound recording and digital photography and created six short videos and two installations, now on show at the Mercer Art Gallery.

The video installation uses interweaving pans of the Castle grounds on two screens opposite each other, one with people in – taking photographs, playing bowls, gardeners at work - and the other shows the same scene, empty of people. The audience has to decide which one to look at, and that places them in the scene as well. When people enter the installation, they will find themselves 'surrounded.'

Millett has worked before on projects in the Yorkshire landscape and relished the opportunity to spend time at the Castle, which she sees as a well-loved public space with a fascinating interweaving of human activity, history and geology.

"It's a place where painters come because of the views, and it has a traditional appeal, but I wanted to explore it with video and sound," said Millett.

"Knaresborough Castle is a unique place, I found it very productive to work there as there is so much going on - the layers of human activities of the people that use it, the views and the sounds changing with the weather and the season."

The talk costs £5 per person. Please book in advance on 01423 556188 or email: museums@harrogate.gov.uk