Awarded: IES Lighting Design Award of Commendation 2014 – NSW Chapter
When Electrolight were asked to provide lighting design advice for a number of art sculptures on a private property in country NSW, they took themselves to site in order to assess the works and their surrounds before setting their minds on an approach.
They soon discovered most of the works were still in storage and yet to be assembled. One of the works, Nike, is a masterpiece from Spanish artist Manolo Valdes. A sculptural maze of intricate 20mm steel lattice with a 8ft high head as the centrepiece, Nike is a commanding structure.
Visually, Nike is a difficult piece to make out during the day – particularly from a distance. You are drawn to enter the work to discover the layers within.
Donn notes “we had seen photos of Nike assembled on a property prior to arriving in Australia. We had a fair idea of how we wanted to approach it but were looking forward to testing our theory with a mockup.”
Unfortunately, with the work still in crates and the construction program against them, they had to abandon the hope for a mockup. Instead, Electrolight took to recreating the work as a 1:20 scale model. It was a decision crucial in gaining the client’s approval. “Our initial concept was a difficult one to interpret, it required a fair amount of imagination to picture the result we wanted, let alone explain. Drawings were never going to do the trick. With a concept like this, we had to get the client’s buy-in 100%”. So Electrolight embarked on constructing their own mini-Nike, complete with LED strips to mimic the effect of their concept.
“The model proved even more valuable than we thought as it allowed us to fine-tune the luminaire locations to suit the primary view-points. The concept centred on expressing the form and volume of the work, using a three-staged silhouetting effect. Secondary to this is the head, and the aim of providing just enough light to make it obvious, but not so obvious that it renders the visual journey redundant.” Donn adds ” The client was sold on the concept from photos of the model alone, but when he saw the model in the flesh he wanted that too”. It now resides on the other side of the globe as a reminder of his prized sculpture.
The final result is remarkably similar to photos of the model taken almost a year prior to the work being assembled. The inherent beauty of this piece of art is purveyed through the magic of light.
