On Saturday 21st February, acclaimed projection artists Ross Ashton and Karen Monid were featured on ITV News, highlighting their latest immersive light-and-sound installation, Rivers of Ink. Created through their company, The Projection Studio, the project is shining a national spotlight on one of the North East’s greatest historical treasures — the Codex Amiatinus.
See the news feature below:
The ITV News feature showcased how Ross and Karen have transformed centuries-old scholarship into a breathtaking visual experience. Using advanced video mapping, layered textures, and immersive audio, Rivers of Ink tells the story of the world’s oldest surviving complete Bible in a way that feels vivid, emotional, and accessible to modern audiences.
Bringing History Into the Present
Commissioned in partnership with researchers from Durham University, the installation explores the origins of the Codex Amiatinus at the Wearmouth-Jarrow monasteries in Northumbria. The manuscript itself was an extraordinary achievement, created in the eighth century using hundreds of animal skins and the painstaking skill of expert scribes.
Ross Ashton and Karen Monid’s work allows audiences to see beyond the physical book and into its story. Through projection onto a large-scale sculptural surface, the exhibition digitally restores lost details, animates ancient text, and immerses visitors in the world of early medieval Britain.
Speaking on ITV, the artists shared their passion for using light as a storytelling medium — not just to entertain, but to reconnect communities with their own cultural heritage.
A National Platform for North East Creativity
The ITV coverage marks an important moment, bringing wider recognition to both the Codex Amiatinus and the artists behind its visual interpretation.
For Ross and Karen, whose work has illuminated landmarks and cathedrals around the world, Rivers of Ink carries special significance. This project celebrates a story rooted in the North East — one that shaped Western civilisation, yet remains relatively unknown compared to other manuscripts like the Lindisfarne Gospels.
Their ability to translate academic research into an emotional public experience is what sets The Projection Studio apart. Rather than simply presenting history, they create environments where people can feel it.
Transforming Scholarship Into Emotion
The ITV segment highlighted the scale and complexity of the installation, but also its emotional impact.
Visitors don’t just learn about the Codex Amiatinus — they experience its journey.
Light flows like ink across the surface. Voices echo across centuries. Text emerges, disappears, and reforms.
It becomes more than a book. It becomes a living story.
Celebrating Regional Legacy Through Light
The Rivers of Ink tour concludes this weekend at Durham Cathedral, bringing the project to a powerful close in one of the region’s most iconic locations.
The ITV feature stands as recognition not only of the Codex Amiatinus’ legacy, but of Ross Ashton and Karen Monid’s exceptional ability to bring history to life through projection art.
Their work reminds us that the most powerful stories are not just told.
They are experienced.