Chris Wilson of WLX productions said “I chose Avolites for this project because I knew it was something out of the ordinary.  The support from the Avolites team has been fantastic, allowing for seamless integration with an existing IT system, and the realisation of a beautiful work of art.”

 

'New Dawn' technical drawing (Photo: Musson Engineering Ltd)

Making 'New Dawn'

Mary Branson worked with a team of artists, craftspeople, engineers and technicians to realise her vision for 'New Dawn'. Over the course of a year, these specialists helped turn the artist’s concept into a reality.

 

Glasswork

To create the glass scrolls that are so central to 'New Dawn', Branson enlisted the skills of leading studio glass artist Adam Aaronson. Of varying sizes and colours, all 168 unique glass discs were hand-blown and carefully ‘spun’ to flatten them. To produce the scroll pattern, Aaronson applied powdered glass colours and silver leaf to the molten glass at specific points in the process.

Testing the light sheets (Photo: Mat Clark)

Metalwork

Branson placed the engineering of her sculpture's portcullis-like framework in the hands of father and son team Ian and Colin Musson. Experts in designing unusual and bespoke metalwork, Musson Engineering employed specialist contractors to produce the structure using stainless steel and aluminium.

Lighting

Designed by Chris Wilson, WLX Productions, New Dawn’s glass scrolls are lit by computer-controlled Applelec LED light sheets. Programmed by the artist, and linked to tidal monitoring of the Thames, a continuous series of slow transitions build from low tide, where only one disc is lit, to high tide, where the whole piece is illuminated. Within these transitions, selections of suffrage society colours emerge and then fade back into the rhythm of the artwork.

Chris Wilson, WLX Productions Ltd, during temporary warehouse installation, Winter 2015 (Photo: Mat Clark)