Rebalance

The high-wire walker must maintain focus and balance with each step; losing concentration or over-correcting could spell disaster. To reach his destination, the walker must continue forwards constantly adjusting to each new position on the wire. This precarious balancing act reflects our own attempts to balance the forces that affect our lives as humanity teeters on the brink of ecological collapse.

Rebalance is a project by professional high-wire walker Ellis Grover physically manifesting the metaphor of "walking a tightrope" to draw attention to the degradation of Welsh rivers and their impact on the environment.

Two days before the first walk, the team meets at the Sustain Theatre near Newport, Wales to go over the plan and prepare the kit. Whilst it only takes one person to walk the tightrope, for Ellis to perform he needs a team of riggers, safety and rescue operators, logistics coordinators and others to make it happen.

The team meets in the workshop at the Sustain Theatre the night before the first walk over the Glanusk River. For Ellis to walk, it takes the team of riggers and rescue operators a full day to set-up.

Ground anchors, several hundred meters of rope, a scaffold tower and huge amounts of rigging equipment need to be checked and prepared the day before.

Ellis inspects his balance pole. The pole weighs around 10kg requiring a great deal of stamina to keep it steady and level as he walks.

Ellis and lead rigger Damo discuss plans for the following day. Whilst pulling a rope across a river might seem like a simple thing to do, the several tonnes of force required to make the rope tight enough is massive and makes the operation very dangerous if not done properly.

Early morning the team arrives on site at the Glanusk Estate where the River Usk runs through the valley in the shadow of the Sugar Loaf, southernmost point of the Black Mountains.

The safety and rescue team test the water depth and flow rate of the River Usk. Foul weather has meant poor visibility and potentially much stronger currents than expected.

Ellis and Damo discuss where to position the anchors for the tightrope with rigger Lily and scaffolder Toast. The line will carry several tonnes of force so the positioning and strength of the anchors is critical to a successful walk.

Ellis and Damo brief the team on how the tightrope needs to be set up.

Damo (right) and scaffolder Toast discus positioning of the support tower. The tower must be perfectly level and upright or the rope can collapse under the force.

Rigger Grizz hauling the line across the river. A thin rope is carried across the river for the initial haul before fixing the thicker rope to the end and pulling it across before tensioning.

Ellis and rigger Lily discuss positioning of Cavalettis, additional supporting ropes that help maintain tension and keep the rope straight.

Welsh scaffolder Toast stands proudly in front of the Welsh national flag flying from the gatehouse at Glanusk Estate.

After a full day rigging, the team arrives back on site for the first of two performances - at sunrise and sunset.

"Over my time as a highwire walker I have gained a philosophy of sorts for my own life that mirrors the correctional flow of a balance pole."

"We must dip into the darkness, and the light, in equal measure, whilst keeping ourselves in the centre of the two"

"This too applies to the ecosystem itself, with its rains and its sunshine, its winters and summers."

"Then as the balance is pushed and a lack of stability ensues, then come the storms and draughts."

"This is why the metaphor is so relevant, and so widely used in translating complex systems to the reader."

Ellis Grover