Red Cables Light Up Canary Wharf

London-based artist/designer Admir Jukanovic, was commissioned by the Canary Wharf Group public art team to create a "winter wonderland in lights" for Jubilee Park at London’s Canary Wharf. Entitled Kablovi Park, the installation can be seen through February 26, 2010.

Jukanovic, senior lighting designer at Mindseye Lighting said the idea behind the installation was to represent the energies that lie underground. Beneath the park there are thousands of kilometers of electronic cables and his design creates the illusion that the cables have been pulled out of the ground in two’s and three’s and the illumination pulsates with implied energy.

"It's showing what is non-visible to the park. When you walk through it is a beautiful space but essentially there's a hidden world below, containing a shopping centre, restaurants, tube stations, and car parks and these cables reflect the importance of their function and the world that lies beneath" explains Jukanovic.

The installation runs on LEDs to keep maintenance and running costs low. This allows the installation to run on less than 100 watts. "The lamp type used was a MR 16 reflector lamp containing 18 bright RED LEDs using all together 1W (running on 12V DC). I've decided to go for that fitting instead of a single, super bright 1W LED, as the light spread of the 18 LEDs is be more even," says Jukanovic. "The lamp base is a standard GU5.3. Each 'Cable' is illuminated from both sides by these lamps. A remotely placed IP-rated box containing a programmed stamp chip dims the single colour red LEDs up and down creating the 'breathing' of the cables."

The red cables are surrounded by water ponds, which are illuminated by in-water IP rated Halogen spotlight dying the fountains in a blue color. "As here the water moves more quickly, I wanted the fountain to sparkle in light blue-almost like electricity-acting as a counterbalance to the slowly pulsating red cables," explains Jukanovic.

Each group of cables—one group contains three to five cable modules—is run by one 12V transformer disguised and placed remotely. The low voltage cables run in-ground to each cable group.