Can you explain your vision for this work, and what the viewer will actually experience now it is complete?
Cites are living changing places that are animated by their communities. They have changing atmospheres, sounds, smells, levels of energy. Nocturne seeks to reflect this by transforming the way that a substantial piece of engineering is physically and imaginatively located in Newcastle and Gateshead.
Like the slowly moving waters below the steelwork I wanted to create a light work that would constantly change so that at any given moment over the next 15 years it will appear to be in a different state. These subtle shifts in colour and intensity mean that the QEII Metro Bridge will have a very different relationship to the Tyne Gorge each evening.
The patterns of colour that Nocturne displays will be controlled by two very different sources: the tidal movement of the Tyne and photographs donated by the public.
The core of the idea is that light, colour and movement can play out over the decades to create an artwork that has behaviours and personality. It is not a simple visual idea, rather, Nocturne exploits circumstance to develop an identity.
How has the form of the bridge influenced what you have created?
The QEII Metro Bridge has completely determined the form and content of the artwork. I was struck by the way that the very simple geometries that make the bridge work come together to produce very complex patterns and views. These patterns and changing angles in the steelwork created the dynamic lit form.
The design for the paint scheme plays on the same principles. The three colours seek to emphasize the primary shapes and place in shadow, or background, other less important elements. The white areas have a dual purpose, firstly they create the simple pattern that I wanted to expose in the bridge. Secondly, they allow us to project very subtle colours at low power.
Can you explain how the photos sent in by the public influence the colours that pass across the bridge?
Each day Nocturne will stream the colours from donated photographs as a series of abstract messages across the structure. It is very much like painting by numbers in strips. Each day a single image generates the colour messages that, like the trains, pass backwards and forwards across the Tyne. (Of course if you had the patience to record each colour you would be able to recreate the image.)
The colours in the photographs will create subtle and complex relationships on the bridge. A simple sunset image will be very different from a wedding portrait and the bridge will be able to show this. What I am looking forward to most is the unpredictability of the artwork. The way it will look on any given night is totally dependent on the tide and the type of photograph selected for the day.
How does the work respond to its surroundings, such as the famous riverscape of Tyneside, the fact this is a working railway bridge, and the river itself?
The metro trains are a visible kinetic events in the riverscape. The work transforms these journeys into moments of light. The river is a much quieter energy in the site. Its tidal harmonies drive the main controller for the artwork that in turn gives the work its personality. I hope that the artwork helps draw some attention upstream.
What special challenges have been presented by working on such a large scale, and alongside railway engineers and the painting contractor?
The special challenge is related to making sure that the artwork does not compromise the safe operation of trains across the bridge whilst maintaining the vision for the way in which colour and light will transform the structure. In my collaboration with Stephen Leary (control programmer) and Duncan Turner (Lumivision, the lighting contractor) we have realised a controller that exactly makes the initial vision a reality.
The closest analogy is that of musical instrument that can change voice. Ours has to be able to change on the instruction of a train. In other words, as a train approaches the bridge it calms down the colour by finding a pastel equivalent. When you consider that there could be up 16.5 million colour variations on each of the 140 lights changing 10 times a second you can see that it was not an inconsiderable technical task construct the controller.
The team from Lumivision have worked fantastically hard in very unfriendly weather conditions to install a work that would have been difficult in day light in the middle of summer. Nexus has supported and advised on the install which has really helped it run smoothly.
Additionally, Pyeroy, the paint contractor have made an excellent job of creating the colour scheme.
You've seen the bridge lit up during the final tests, can you describe your feeling now? Have you achieved what you hoped you would when you set out on this project?
The final tests have been extremely nerve-racking and exciting. Nocturne is my first opportunity to realise ideas that I have been developing for a number of years. But it is the bridge and Newcastle & Gateshead that makes and completes this work. I was worried that it would only look like the proposal because that would mean it hadn't taken on an identity of its own. The relief and delight was seeing the work leave my ownership and become part of a place.
The work can be more subtle and more dramatic than I expected, and some curious things happens to the bridge in certain conditions.
What do you think the people of Newcastle and Gatehhead will make of Nocturne?
I hope that the people of Newcastle and Gateshead will simply see Nocturne as a new personality in the city. One that they can influence.