Burns Light was created by a group of musicians, animators and artists from different backgrounds. The aim was to bring the mausoleum to life and imagine Robert Burns as a presence that remains as time passes.

The installation tells the story of the people who have visited Burns’ grave, alongside the wider world changing around him. Over a six-minute period, multiple moments and ideas unfold at once.

The young girl who appears represents the 421 cholera victims buried in a nearby mass grave. During our research, we paused to consider what Burns might have thought of this — an ornamental monument standing so close to so many people who were never individually remembered. The work holds both ideas together: honouring a famous figure, while acknowledging those who were lost.

When Burns died, people gathered in huge numbers. His funeral was the largest state funeral in Scottish history. The music at the start of the piece draws from Handel’s Dead March, which was played as Burns was carried to his grave. Two gunshots reference the firing of the Dumfries Volunteers.

A moment between Burns and Jean Armour marks her later burial in his tomb. After Burns’ death, Jean is known to have visited the grave daily, dressed in black, until they were reunited. While there are many questions around the life Jean lived, her commitment and emotional connection to Burns are never questioned.