CWL brings a brand new site-specific sculpture to Sharjah, UAE.
Flutter | Photo: © Chris Wood Light
Situated in amongst the natural surroundings of the iconic Al Noor Island in Sharjah, UAE, stands a 2m tall light responsive sculpture, entitled ‘Flutter’.
Flutter by Chris Wood Light // Photo: © Maraya Art Centre
Chris Wood Light was commissioned by Maraya Art Centre to create a site-specific artwork that responds to the islands busy environment. The Island hosts an array of wildlife, from cats and lizards to birds and butterflies- the delicate noises of their activities become the soundtrack to the visitors experience. Wood took inspiration from Al Noor’s famous Butterfly Sanctury, a popular attraction on the island, to create a design which honours one species in particular.
Painted Lady Butterfly // Photo: © Butterfly Conservation
The Painted Lady Butterfly.
A common inhabitant on UK soil, this species undertakes a phenomenal 9,000 mile migration. This is not achieved by individual butterflies alone, but use a kind of generational relay. Studies show up to six successive generations of butterfly participate in this mammoth journey from tropical Africa, to the Arctic Circle.
“Once thought to be blindly led, at the mercy of the wind, into an evolutionary dead-end in the lethal British winter, this amazing combination of mass-participation citizen science and cutting edge technology has shown Painted Ladies to be sophisticated travellers.”- Richard Fox, Surveys Manager at Butterfly Conservation
Flutter pays tribute to the painted lady butterfly, by representing their epic journeys through meandering lines of Dichroic. Embedded within one of these lines is a binary coded message of ‘9000 miles’ which is translated through the arrangement of dichroic filters.
This style of pattern work is a development from the artwork ‘Bird on a Wire’. Using simple video techniques, Chris developed a method of tracing the dynamic swooping lines of the birds in flight, this process has also been applied to Flutter. These patterns are set into a large white circular form, which hints at the near global presence of this butterfly species.
Photo: © Maraya Art Centre
The artwork produces patterns of coloured light that change over the day, referencing the metamorphic life of these fascinating insects.
Photo: © Chris Wood Light
‘Flutter’ embodies the islands natural wonders. Standing elegantly in harmony with its surroundings.
A new venture for the CWL team!
“Although I have made works suitable for outdoor setting previously, for me, Flutter is a really special one. The use of new materials, such as Corian has allowed me to create a free standing sculpture using the same design principles as my wall panels. Ever since I hung one of my early artworks on a garden fence, over 15 years ago, I’ve dreamt of creating an exterior artwork that can engage very directly with the sunlight, truly reflecting the environment it is placed. The constant, predictable sunlight of the middle east became the perfect setting for this design feature. Flutter is in no way 2 dimensional, with the dichroic design mirroring on both sides of the Corian form. This, not only, allows visitors to get a full panoramic experience of the work, but as the artwork faces east, it means the morning light interacts with one side and evening, the other. I like to call this the metamorphosis.” - Chris Wood
We are so proud to add this to our catalogue of commissioned projects.. and very excited to for the next creative venture of CWL.
