The Light – Poole
The Light, POOLE
In November 2015, The Light was installed in Poole Dolphin Shopping Centre for 12 weeks.
The 4 metre illuminated globe designed by artist Richard McLester formed the focal point for a larger project
A Voice for the Community
The project saw the creation of a community choir put together especially for the launch concert, a performance of Songs Of The Light under the globe in the Shopping Centre.
The project also featured a series of filmed interviews aimed at exploring the themes of Journeys and Light. The interviewees included Bishop Nicholas Holtham of Salisbury, as well as a wide variety of children, students and a cross section of the general public who passed through the Shopping Centre.
Artist Richard McLester explains more about the different elements in the project in a short video…
What Is The Light?
One of the challenges leading up to the art installation was getting the message across that there was more to the project than just an art installation. To address this, we filmed a short trailer explaining about the installation and the motivation behind it.
The Journey of The Light
Construction on The Light started at the beginning of 2015. With the help of Elliott and Toby, two 18 year old interns, spent 8 weeks designing and developing the globe. From prototype to finished product, this included a custom-made lightbulb that allowed the thousands of LEDs to be mounted and controlled via a DMX Lighting Desk.
Richard completed IPAF training in order to allow the team to install the globe using a Cherry Picker. The globe itself was completely hand-sewn together.
Musical director Sam Hanson led 6 rehearsals with the community choir and film director Jordi Robert took a volunteer film crew through their paces.
The Live Performance
On 26th November 2015, The Light was premiered in Poole Dolphin Shopping Centre. During the performance, interview clips from the filmed Stories Of The Light were projected.
Photos by Beth Hewitt & Derek Moore