Sunday, August 28, 2011

Ireland’s largest public artwork unveiled in Derry Londonderry

Mute Meadow, a new original and creative artwork located on the banks of the River Foyle in Derry-Londonderry.

Created by London based artists Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier, the artwork celebrates the regeneration of Derry-Londonderry, marking its transformation from a city of conflict to a city of culture. Stretching out across the waterfront, the £800,000 sculpture is the largest public artwork in Ireland and is made up of 40 pairs of angled steel columns lit at the base to resemble a ‘forest of light'.

This light is programmed to give “Mute Meadow” the appearance of a living thing. By night, it’s an organic, ever-changing entity with colored lights that mimic sounds. By day, the sculptures take their lighting cues from the sun, shifting shadows cast by rolling overhead clouds.

The columns are now in place, ranging in height from 6 meters to 10 meters, and the lighting element of the artwork went live on Saturday 25 June. “Mute Meadow” has been in development for 6 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 city's residents are being invited to contribute to the artwork by uploading their 'sounds of the city' to the onedayiplantedaseed.com. The sounds will then be converted into light waves and used to create a silent lighting program to illuminate the artwork.

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