Mother Time Keeper, lantern costume, Nicola Gunson 2000, C003993

Contemporary British folk tradition, Brighton, originated 1993. A magical winter white lantern festival, taking the form of a street procession with thousands of performers, many wearing huge paper lanterns. Ending in a spectacular fireworks display and bonfire of the lanterns on Brighton beach.

The display:
Mother Time Keeper presides over one of the entrances to Performance Gallery. The night sky behind her is illuminated with fireworks. At intervals the lights that brought this lantern to life in performance are illuminated. Ticking at an urgent pace the lights sweep round Mother Time Keeper's dial.

Find out more

- Consider the performance: as Spectator, as Performer, as Maker
- Mother Time Keeper Lantern in Brighton Museum's collection
- Find out more about Burning of the Clocks festival

Burning of the clocks - SPECTATOR

	Bonfire of the clocks, detail © Philip Carr 1999

It's a cold wet December night. The sky explodes with light. A procession of huge paper lanterns makes its way to Brighton seafront.

Time is passing in front of you: the Four Seasons, Death, the Grim Reaper, Hours and Years.

You are part of a contemporary community festival. It emerged at the 1993 winter solstice as an alternative to the commercial Christmas and New Year. Already it feels like a timeless Sussex tradition.

Burning of the Clocks- PERFORMER

	Mother Time Keeper lantern in New Year Procession © Simon Dack, The Argus 2000

This is our collective celebration, a chance to say goodbye to the Old Year and welcome in the New.
Thousands of people join in. Carnival, soca and samba music urges the procession forward.

Inside the magical white lanterns, we dance our way through the mass of people. Brilliantly lit from within, we dance lanterns with wet bodies and heavy batteries.

We place our fragile creations on the bonfire. They fuel the blazing fireshow.

Burning of the Clocks - MAKER

"The opportunity to make a lantern is open to everybody in a series of workshops where beautiful and elaborate images are created.

"Winter, time, frozen in time, death, mother time, the not so grim reaper, frozen to the bone, skeleton, cycles, clocks, webs were all used to create Mother Time Keeper.

"The Old Year is burnt with ceremonial splendour and fireworks (weather permitting) making way for the New Year and the coming of Spring" Nikki Gunson (artist).