SGM Illuminates 2017 City of Culture

	Photo: James Medcraft and Jason Bruges Studio

Jason Bruges Studio was commissioned to create a series of installations for the closing celebrations for Hull; the 2017 UK City of Culture. The project ran for over two months from December to January and featured multiple SGM products.

"When Jason Bruges Studio approached me to design the lighting for this city wide installation that was to be outdoors during the winter months, I knew we needed SGM onboard," said the lighting designer, Carlos Valente, behind the installation "Where Do We Go from Here?" "Asides from the obvious low-power, IP rating, and bright factors, we also found the fixtures provided great lighting for camera with features to calibrate the LEDs refresh rate."

The site specific installation used a specially choreographed interplay of light, shadow, and sound to guide people through three areas around Hull's Old Town.

"We started the process with demos of just about every small footprint fixture that SGM makes, and ended up loving the light from the new S-4. It gave us a bright source in small form factor with beautiful color correction and dimming," said Valente, who enjoyed the benefits of the powerful S-4 in this amazing installation.

Each installation featured a different configuration of repurposed industrial robots of varying sizes and at different levels, from ground to rooftop. The robots communicated through woven networks and acted as light guides, which created kinetic animations, resulting in the inquisitive acquaintance with the city. Some were pre-programmed, some were reactive and with a wide range of lighting effects, from beams, to shadows, and reflections, the robots animated and highlighted unseen places and encouraged people to see Hull in a new light.

"We ended up using the S-4 to take charge of the whole of the Trinity Square site, where nine robots cooperate on choreographed kinetic compositions with a the S-4 and a directional speaker mounted onto the end. This site was very poetic and immersive and we needed a source that could give us pleasant white tones, inviting the public to step in and enjoy the installation," explained Valente, who also expressed how he benefited from more than the products. "Not only have the SGM products been, in my experience, a sign of reliability, we have also got great support from the SGM UK team, who followed us all the way through the process."