Company Details | |
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Company Name | JPLD |
Company Address | 122 Springvale Road WINCHESTER SO23 7RB United Kingdom Map It |
Your Contact Details | |
Name | James Poore |
Job Title | Creative Director |
Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
Phone | +441962841419 |
Role of this organisation in the project being entered | Lighting Designers |
Other Categories |
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Entry Details | |
Project/Product Name (written how it should appear) | Pond Life: Albertopolis and the Lily |
Project Address | Gloucester Road Underground Station - District Line Disused Platform Gloucester Road London SW7 4SF United Kingdom Map It |
Client Name | Elizabeth Ferguson |
Designer/Architect Name | James Poore |
Contractor Name | Lee Palmer |
Project/Product Description | Lighting Designer: JPLD The unique, pioneering programme, Art on the Underground, was created to bring the works of world-renowned artists into the public domain, changing the way travellers and commuters experience the city. The latest exhibition, Pond Life: Albertopolis and the Lily, by British artist Monster Chetwynd, is an immersive installation incorporating a series of five disc-shaped sculptures, four metres in diameter, along the length of a discussed platform on Gloucester Road tube station. Each sculpture is populated with creatures – beetles, dragonfly larvae, tadpoles and tortoises – that appear to be constructing sections of the Crystal Palace. They show the underwater life of the submerged lily pads, their spiny network of veins playing host to the industrious wildlife. Lighting design studio JPLD has dramatically illuminated the discs like performers on a stage, each one carefully lit to bring out the character and immense level of detail on the individual pieces. For Pond Life: Albertopolis and the Lily, JPLD looked to dial up the intensity of the white light on the discs, with a slightly different, cooler white colour temperature to emphasise the discs against the backlit arches and the effects at either end of the platform to really make them stand out. Rather than stepping down into the tunnels of the London Underground it is as if the viewer has stepped beneath the surface of the water, into a subterranean simulation of the Amazon. JPLD used a different colour temperature of white light projected through a break-up gobo which was then de-focussed to create a mysterious effect on the arches at either end of the platform. The result leaves the viewer discombobulated, wondering if they are indeed under-water, maybe submerged in a secret cave. Completed/Launched May 2023 CONFIDENTIAL |
Materials Used | 19 Martin Exterior 400 Image Projector fitted with 2no custom in house designed "keystone" Gobos designed to frame each arch, Rosco break-up Gobos, colour correction filters for reducing the colour temperature from the standard 6500K as well as a selection of standard colours, 19 Pulsar CHROMABATTEN 200 (custom version with RGBAW LED chips) Controlled by a Pharos control system including outstation 1 universe DMX We used the Martin Exterior high level luminaires to dramatically illuminate the discs like performers on a stage, each one carefully lit to bring out the character and immense level of detail on the individual pieces. We then supplemented this with carefully positioned Chroma battens gently grazing up from floor level to draw out additional character from the intricate detail on each disk, carefully balancing the light levels and tuning the colour temperature to bring each piece to life. We used further Chroma battens grazing upwards and tuned to bring out the beautiful colour of the London stock brickwork in the arches with a warm white light carefully dimmed down to create the perfect backdrop for the discs. The intensity of the white light was dialled up on the discs with a slightly different, cooler white colour temperature to emphasise the discs against the backlit arches and the effects at either end of the platform to really make them stand out. At the ends of the platform we used the colour flags in the Martin exterior high level fittings combined with the breakup GOBO to create an underwater, aquatic ambiance by de-focussing the fitting and blurring the light it creates a very subtle subterranean effect Rather than stepping down into the tunnels of the London Underground it is as if the viewer has stepped beneath the surface of the water, into a subterranean simulation of the Amazon. The result leaves the viewer discombobulated, wondering if they are indeed under-water, maybe submerged in a secret cave. |
Sustainability | In order to be a sustainable as possible we utilised the existing lighting and simply cleaned, repaired and refurbished the lighting. As much as possible was carried out on site during engineering hours to avoid the logistics and costs of removing the fittings, taking them away and then bringing them back. Those which required off site repair only made one journey out and one journey back, we carefully co-ordinated the logistics so that the lighting was removed over two nights and stored in the station and then removed on the end of the second night shift and taken away to the repair workshop. We then repaired and refurbished ALL the existing lighting before returning it to site to re-install it (over half was at high level) ready for programming and setting up. We carried out all weekly design meetings by Zoom and used public transport to get to other in person meetings and carry out site visits, the only time we attended site by car was during the night shift and we used ULEZ compliant vehicles and stayed local to the station to avoid unnecessary journeys, the project became an exercise in sustainability, even the artwork used a lot of reclaimed/recycled sustainably materials. We have also designed the scheme so that we do not utilise all the luminaires and those that are used are dimmed down, some as low as 18% so in terms of total wattage of lighting used the MAXIMUM not accounting for dimming is only |
Issues Faced | The biggest challenge for the lighting designers was working in this fairly hostile and restrictive location, where there are strict parameters on what lighting can be used, where it can be located and where it can light. Safety is obviously paramount so as well as adhering to the rigid standards of London Underground, the fittings needed to be angled so that they do not cause glare or distraction to the train drivers. All setting up and programming also needed to be carried out at night during engineering hours when the power is off and the trains are not running, resulting in many late nights for the design team. And of course, the station needed to be operational again by 05:00 in the morning so everything needed to be cleared away by 04:30 with no hint as to the forthcoming exhibition to ensure the mystery was maintained until the all-important “reveal” when the artworks were uncovered and the lights turned on. |
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