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Matt Daw chooses Astera for PoliNations project in Birmingham

The city of Birmingham, UK, hosted the first PoliNations event, an “urban oasis” installation work that took over Victoria Square with 40-ft-high sculpted archi-cultural trees and thousands of varieties of plants crafted into a setting that hosted a diversity of live events, experiences, and performances.

The forest celebrated the colour, existential beauty, delicacy, and adaptability of horticultural life, telling stories of different species and their global journeys, movement and transformations, a metaphor for the energy and symbiosis that cultural diversity brings to any society.

Lighting designer Matt Daw was already onboard with the project when Hampshire-based lighting rental company Liteup won a competitive tender issued by creative production company Trigger Collective - under the artistic direction of Angie Bual and Carl Robertshaw - to illuminate the project.

PoliNations was commissioned via the “Unboxed: Creativity in the UK” initiative to produce as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, staged as the city celebrated hosting a Commonwealth Games event. It was presented to the public over seventeen days with the support of Birmingham City Council.

Matt Daw specified 160 Astera wireless LED fixtures to assist in this task, including 117 x PixelBricks, 8 x AX9 PowerPARs and 35 x AX10 SpotMAXs. His starting point for lighting PoliNations was the 30-minute “Sunset shift” sequence, a daily sonic and visual experience which played out at dusk. He broke this down into five “chapters”, the Golden Hour, the Blue Hour, Forest Floor Awakens, Mycorrhizal Communication and After Dark, each illustrating the forest coming to life after dark.

The Astera PixelBricks were used to illuminate the pathways criss-crossing the forest. They were positioned all around the installation so the light skimmed the pathways. They also played a functional role in providing essential light for the public to walk safely through the installation. The PixelBricks were all run wired.

Some of the Astera AX9s and AX10s were used as longer-range wash lighting for the trees from the outside, in conjunction with 28 moving lights with gobos that textured the tops and trunks, and the trees were also internally lit with bespoke LED fixtures to add depth and dimension to the structures at night.

The AX9s and AX10s were utilised as mobile lights that could be deployed wherever there was a need for a performance or an intervention happening in the forest. This enabled participating artists to respond spontaneously to the space and where the public were gathering. Obviously, a wireless option for this was essential.

All the lighting was programmed onto and run through a GrandMA2 lighting console. Liteup’s project manager was Marc Callaghan.

(Photos: Matt Daw)

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