The Gallery re-opened after a £4.3 million refurbishment, part of National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside’s (NMGM) first major capital project for the 21st century. The Victorian building façade which features central steps and an extruded section, is flanked by Grecian-style columns, and flat sections either side. The columns and two statues either side of the steps, were lit using 300W profile fixtures, and the flat, end sections of the building’s fascia were bathed in blue light from powerful Coemar Panorama 1800W cyc fixtures. Tight 4-way finger-beam fans of ‘Aircraft Landing’ lights (ACLs) were also used on the building fascia to produce a contrasting lighting state on this area.
The blue washed building sides were then overlaid with high powered, large-scale white scenic projections featuring special slides of some of the artwork on show inside. The projections were calculated precisely to fill the available space. Equipment for this aspect of the project - 2 x Hardware for Xenon 7kW units - was supplied by CT, and programmed and operated by Peter Wilms. The projections consisted of a 20-minute scrolling slide show, with two asymmetric images running for the first 10 minutes of the show, which merged to form one central image for the latter half of the slideshow. At the very top of the building is the famous reclining lady, the Sprit of Liverpool statue. This was also front and rear lit for the occasion, using 250W floods and a 300W profile spot.
(Lee Baldock)
