Chinese ox sculpture illuminated by Astera
- Details
The work was commissioned by Sydney’s Harbour and Foreshore Authority. They approached Paul just four weeks ahead of this year’s Chinese New Year and asked if the piece could be delivered as an internally lit steel-framed structure with stretched fabric skins.
Paul in turn asked Mitch Hancock from Sydney Events Services to assist with the project’s lighting and delivery.
Once work started on the Ox which is 1.16m wide and 2.4m long, Paul and Mitch soon realised time was simply too tight to complete the structure in hand-welded steel, so instead proposed the ingenious solution of 3D printing, a task expedited by a giant printing machine at Composite Images in Artarmon.
All the other design requirements stayed the same, and right from the outset Mitch proposed that Astera products should be used as the lighting solution.
Two Titan Tubes illuminated the body, with the bulbs positioned to spread lumens down the limbs and into the head distributing it and achieving a nice even glow.
The Titan Tubes were secured using the various Astera mounting clip options, with the NYX Bulbs fitted into waterproof light sockets mounted directly inside the Ox.
Astera’s range of mounting accessories is always popular with clients and end-users and especially relevant for a unique installation like this and other one-off and custom scenarios as well as for all the standard applications.
Another major consideration was having weatherised lights, so the products being rain-resistant hit the spot and the client was also very specific about how the creature should be lit, so being able to control the lights quickly and easily via the Astera App made fine-tuning these details very straightforward.
The client requested four different colour combinations and the plan was to choose one signature look, but the Astera App allowed Paul and Mitch to animate the lighting and create a sequence that scrolled seamlessly between all four lighting designs to the delight of the client.
