Anolis ArcPad 48 LED fixtures are internally lighting artist Stuart Green’s gleaming and breathtakingly beautiful ‘Droplet’ sculpture, a 6 metre tall 3 metre wide stainless steel work which has be installed on the corner of Furzer and Worgon Streets in the Phillip Woden district of Canberra, Australia.
Perth based Green was commissioned to create Droplet by the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Government. Its elegant curved and pleated shell – in the shape of a massive water droplet – is made from laser cut 316 marine grade stainless steel, and it has a quirky 10 degree tilt.
The idea is that the ‘single strong object’ can be easily interpreted from a distance …. with details and pierced intricacies available on closer viewing as people are drawn to it.
Lighting was integral to the sculpture from the start. It is a medium also previously explored by the artist in other works.
The ArcPad 48s were specified by Western Australia based design practice Light Application and supplied by the Gold Coast HQ of Anolis’ Australian distributor The ULA Group, co-ordinated by ULA’s Architectural Lighting & Vision Consultant, Jason Saunders.
Light Application’s MD David Sparrow explains that the choice of lighting product was “Very simple” in that it required a flexible, high powered LED fixture that was compact, well-priced and maintenance-free, “So the Anolis ArcPad was the obvious choice” he concludes.
Green adds, “I wanted to use high quality LED products with a good intensity that were simple to install … and hugely dynamic in effect”.
The ArcPad 48 fixtures are installed in the base of Droplet pointing upwards and outwards to the east and west. They are programmed to run a colour changing sequence that morphs from blue to pink to white, etc. over a 5 minute period.
The colour chase is slightly offset in each fixture, with the effect of giving slightly varied hues of the same colour simultaneously as it traverses the programmed colour spectrum. This results in a fuller, richer and more rounded chromatic experience than if lit with a single colour tone.
The Dynalight DMX control system was pre-programmed by Light Application and Green at the latter’s studio in Perth, and the whole work transported in its entirety across the country for installation.
There is also an interplay with natural light during the day as Droplet is highly reflective and reflects the colour, light and subtleties of its immediate environment – making it a living, breathing phenomenon.
At dawn / dusk there is a fabulous reciprocity between the Anolis lighting, the fading / brightening sky and the ambient street lighting and general glow emanating from the close urban landscape.
The ArcPad 48s turn on / off with the street and pedestrian lighting, so during the darkness hours, Droplet takes on another whole new shimmering persona. Light radiating from it aesthetically engaging all who pass with aesthetics, suggestion and ideas, enriching their individual journeys and imaginations.
Droplet has already become massively popular and received much critical acclaim as a high profile, captivating piece of public art.
Stuart Green is delighted with the performance of the ArcPad 48s, and has ordered more to be used on some of his forthcoming projects.
Photos credits @ Martin Ollman
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