Astera at the Heart of Manchester
- Details
Alex is a brand manager for Allied London, the property developer at the centre of evolving this vibrant area of the city, which has become a leading business destination, legal quarter and a thriving living and working community as well as a place for socialising and entertainment.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Spinningfields commissioned various public art displays around town to explore love and heartbreak in the city, a project that also included offering this as their own creative contribution for public enjoyment and Instagram hotspots!
Inspired and tasked to find new, fresh and invigorating ways of getting people to engage with their environment and appreciate the striking modernist urban backdrop of Spinningfields, Alex is constantly seeking to drive footfall to and spark interest in the area’s cafes, bars, restaurants and other facilities.
The pulsing Astera AX1 heart is visible across the evening skyline and from key vantage points like the Deansgate-Castlefield Metrolink station and as far away as Old Trafford.
It was an instant Valentine’s Day hit on social media with people flocking for selfies with it in the background, so much so that the installation has been extended and will run for the remainder of February.
The tubes weigh only 1kg each, and Alex found some industrial strength suction pads which he used to fix them to the inside of the windows along floors 12 to 17 of the building.
Black cloth is used as a mask behind the lights and the heart measures approximately 20m top to bottom, with its lowest point around 40m up the building.
The AX1s were programmed by Pete Deacon productions and Alex Webb - using the Astera App - to pulse through a series of luuurve colours, from rich sumptuous red to hot steamy purple.
Alex organises many different events and activations, and he first saw Astera products, including the PixelTubes, at the PLASA show in 2017. The exclusive UK distributor is London based Ambersphere Solutions.
(Jim Evans)
