Luminations is a public art installation located along the North Promenade in the popular British seaside town of Cleethorpes. The 500m long animated light display was designed by award-winning British visual artist Esther Rolinson, in collaboration with architectural lighting specialists The Light Lab, and brought to life with the help of lighting control specialist, Pharos Architectural Controls.
The artwork was developed from Esther’s ‘Gravitate’ series of drawings and comprises two swooping festoons that weave in and out of one another. Suspended from lamp posts along the promenade, the colours flow back and forth along the artwork. Looping custom-built structures supporting the festoons enhance the roller-coaster inspiration for the lighting design. The visual effects are powered by a 50-universe Pharos Designer VLC (Video Lighting Controller).
The Designer VLC 50 manages the 16 Art-Net universes – eight per light string – that make up the artwork. The controller manages a random selection from nearly 200 video animations provided by Esther, to create a constantly changing visual experience with a colour palette inspired by Cleethorpes’ sunsets and sunrises. The main shows vary from gentle fades to dramatic surges and waves, interspersed with rest periods where the whole system returns to subtle shades of white light, before dimming for the next show to begin.
The VLC is a highly capable, cost-effective architectural lighting control solution for large LED pixel arrays, such as building façades, bridges, and presentation walls. The VLC is also very flexible, making it simple to play video content across an array either from locally stored HD media files or a DVI-D video input. It also offers a range of creative, generative effects and the versatility of powerful show control and integration features.
The artwork was funded through the Coastal Communities Fund (CCF) as part of a £3.8m grant to introduce several improvements across the North Promenade and the surrounding area. This included the addition of exercise furniture to the area, as well as shutter art which is now visible on many premises along the promenade.
Esther Rolinson is known for her work combining new media technology with established practices such as drawing and sculpture, which made her the ideal artist for the bold project.
Ryan Sainsbury, Regional Sales Manager for the UK from Pharos Architectural Controls said: “We have a wealth of experience in public artwork installations, so we knew we could bring Luminations to life. The control element is vital to ensure the artwork is a true depiction of Esther Rolinson’s artistic vision. It’s very satisfying to know we’ve played an important part in achieving such excellent results.”
Projects Credits:
Artist: Esther Rolinson
Lighting Design: Esther Rolinson in partnership with The Light Lab
Commissioning and Programming: Architainment Lighting
Lighting Controls: Pharos Architectural Controls
Photography: Gary Davies
