DERRY~LONDONDERRY , Northern Ireland — “Mute Meadow” is a riverside art installation that includes 40 pairs of steel columns, varying in height from 6-8 meters and lit at night with pulsing hues inspired by stained glass and evoking the wordless “breath” of the city.
Working on behalf of artists Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier, Neon Circus provided the programming and lighting design for the pairs of reed-like structures lit by 40 Iluminarc Ilumipod Inground 36 IP LED wash lights housed in custom-made in-ground structures.
The city, officially known as Londonderry but more commonly referred to as Derry, has been in a healing mode in recent years after decades of conflict between Irish nationalists and unionists. Last year, the city was designated the inaugural UK City of Culture, an annual honor that will begin with the year 2013.
The lights were designed to match the stained glass windows of Derry~Londonderry’s Guild Hall. Each of these 12 windows was translated into a color palette of five colors (for a total of 60 colors lighting the entire piece).
Neon Circus wrote software to collate the lights with the random sound bites that make up the “breathing pattern” of the piece. That required weeks spent staggering the dimming curves to accompany the right audio triggers, which mixed the light from each color palette. The goal was to achieve a look that was “unpredictable within reason.”
“Mute Meadow,” which cost more than $1.26 million to build, has been in development for six years. The artists collaborated with Verbal Arts Centre to capture sounds (verbal and musical) from the people of Derry~ Londonderry with the core purpose to represent “the ‘breath’ of the city, beyond narratives, translated into light.”
The sculpture stretches from the former parade ground at Ebrington down to the banks of the River Foyle and across the waterfront.
For more information, please visit www.iluminarc.com.
