Peter Hill: The Beacon

As a Cornish lad growing up in the salty damp and Stockholm Tar of my dad’s boat, a
traditional ‘Old Gaffer’, lighthouses were a regular sight.
On his boat, Ella Speed, I first sailed out of sight of land on passage to the Isles of Scilly, 30 miles into the Atlantic off Lands End.The lighthouses of that trip are etched deep: St Anthony’s Head, Lizard, Tater Du, Longships,Wolf Rock, Penninis Head, Round Island and Bishop Rock. Improbable structures, guiding, lighting, warning. I have at times had cause to be very grateful for these lights.
I was fascinated to discover that the Chance Brothers Glassworks made lenses for
thousands of lighthouses and literally ‘lit the seaways of the world’. Many of the lights that I have navigated by were made here at Chances and were sent into the world along these canals.
The lighthouse I have made for this project is based upon Godrevy Lighthouse in St Ives Bay. It is a beautiful place, beloved of my mum and where I have lived, loved, laughed, surfed and seen the solar eclipse. Hopefully it unites an unlikely set of characters: my parents, Chance’s Glass Factory, the canals, and everywhere around the world with a Chance’s light.