University and Orford Ness partnership launches Research Art Lab

A rich history of research and experimentation will be explored at National Trust Orford Ness this summer as 11 artists from around the world set up a temporary studio ‘laboratory’ in a former military building as part of a tie-up with the University of Suffolk.

Research Art Lab is part of Power House, a long-term partnership between the National Trust and the University of Suffolk and is inspired by the military invention that took place on Orford Ness during the twentieth century. 

From the First World War until the late 1980s, Orford Ness, now cared for by the National Trust, was used as a secret military testing site, home to six large test cells that were built to carry out environmental tests on the atomic bomb.

The tests were designed to mimic the rigours to which a weapon might be subjected before detonation, including vibration, extremes of temperature, shocks and G-forces. Two of these laboratories, known as ‘pagodas’, are now classified as scheduled monuments. 

The last service personnel to be based on the site left in 1987 and in 1993, the Ministry of Defence sold it to the National Trust. Since then, it has been left to nature and is now home to an abundance of wildlife, including several species of nesting and wading birds, hares and precious vegetated shingle, all of which is subject to the ongoing shifts brought by climate and coastal change. 

This summer, 11 artists will draw on both the present and past of Orford Ness, using their experience of it now alongside archival resources as inspiration for their work. Themes range from early camouflage techniques and colour palettes that were tested at the site during the First World War to contemporary botanical drawings inspired by the flora found on the shingle and marshland. 

The artists will each take part in a three-week residency and work across a variety of media, including drawing, sculpture, painting, installation, film, photography, text and performance. Many of the artists are based in Suffolk and know the Ness well, while others will be visiting for the first time, travelling from London and California to bring new and different perspectives to the landscape. 

The Research Art Lab transforms the Power House - a small 1930s brick building which formerly housed a generator to supply electricity to the Black Beacon, a homing beacon for military aircraft - into a live, working and creative space.  

On open days, visitors to Orford Ness will be able to see the process of creative research and experimentation as it happens, rather than as a finished outcome, and make public the process of developing and testing work that often takes place behind closed doors.  

Dr Jane Watt, artist and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Suffolk, has been the first of the artists to complete a residency, creating two and three-dimensional paintings inspired by what she has both observed, and archival colour ‘recipes’ from 1917 camouflage experiments.  

The documents were found in the National Archives by Roland Edwards, a National Trust volunteer, and member of IRGON (International Research Group Orford Ness), which aims to further the understanding of the history of Orford Ness. 

Jane’s work has so far culminated in her painting a camouflage-inspired colour palette on a 8.53m-long piece of paper - the same wingspan as a Sopwith Camel, a plane that was used in early camouflage painting experiments on Orford Ness.  

She said: “It is such a unique and special opportunity to be able to spend time here; it’s an inspiring space to think, observe, create and test out new ideas. You really feel like you’re immersed in the landscape.” 

Research Art Lab is just one of the latest instalments of creative programming at Orford Ness. Glen Pearce, Property Operations Manager, says: “When the National Trust acquired the site in 1993, it commissioned British artist Dennis Creffield to make a record of what it looked like.  

“Since then, it has inspired artists and creatives from all walks of life, from musicians and poets, to writers, painters, photographers and film-makers. This year, our ongoing partnership with the University of Suffolk is taking us back to our roots, delving into the Ness’ fascinating past as a home of research, experimentation and invention. 

“We’re really excited to see how this fascinating landscape, with its complicated history, further inspires artists and visitors this year.” 

Orford Ness is only accessible by the National Trust ferry and open on select days until Sunday 26 October 2025. Visit the National Trust website here for more details and to book.

To find out more about Fine Art at the University of Suffolk, visit the course page here: BA (Hons) Fine Art | University of Suffolk.