(UK) – King’s Cross foot tunnel to house immersive Spiers + Major light installation.

Launching on 6 March, in association with King’s Cross Central Partnership, Half Life uses the medium of light to synthesise a digital journey through light and colour.

Having previously conceived illuminated graphic artwork Light Pipe in the King’s Cross tunnel (mondo*arc #80), Half Life is built on a construct of digital, ordered cycles building from light to dark and begins with bold, dramatic steps gradually becoming calmer until they dissolve, ghost-like, leaving just a trace of the light that has been, before resetting to reveal a new cycle.

Within the tunnel’s 90-metre glazed wall are 180 sources that create a palette of animated colour. Through the intricate programming of each individual light source, sequences have been developed from which the narrative of the piece grows organically. Each of the sources consists of five individual elements: red, green and blue light, complemented by warm and cool white. These are then blended together to create a variety of tones and saturations.

While the juxtapositions of light and dark, order and chaos, past and present, peaceful and energetic can be observed in one viewing, the gradual evolution of hue and saturation are only recognisable across the piece’s entire duration, creating a new experience on each journey.

Keith Bradshaw, Principal at Speirs + Major commented: ‘We have designed Half Life so that no two moments in the tunnel will be experienced the same. Each visitor will have their own perception of time and distance, immersed in light, dark and colour.”

www.speirsandmajor.com