This site-specific bespoke inflatable sculpture U responded to the horseshoe architecture of the triangular Majestic building, Leeds. Occupying a footprint of 34 x 21 x 2.8m and circumnavigating the building's wedge shaped layout on the ground floor. Commissioned by Rushbond PLC after the first COVID lockdown and viewable only from exterior pavements, the sculpture shifted from predominantly fluorescent pink to yellow over its 80m length. A quality discernible only when viewing the sculpture from both sides of the building. This viewing complexity was further heightened by UV lighting after dark, which enabled another experience during the night-time economy in the centre of Leeds. It is a paradigm in using sculpture to articulate an architectural space from within whilst encouraging viewers to perambulate the host building. It also shows how sculpture can be transformed according to time of day and likely audience.
U was developed in order to animate a space in the recently renovated building by its redevelopers. Now home to channel 4 news, at the time of commission, many spaces inside had not been rented out after the Covid lockdowns The PLC company used the striking images of the work and accompanying publicity as a means to solicit new tenants into the building. Located directly opposite the main city station, the sculpture also received huge footfall viewings, especially outside the Covid lockdowns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHISuuzPVqM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7FoBWWUlj8&t=5s
History
School
- Design and Creative Arts
Department
- Creative Arts
