The East and West abutment walls of the Fletcher Road bridge are now adorned by a new public artwork. Part sculpture and part imagery, the new visual experience compliments the existing pre-cast concrete panels to generate a modular relief configuration of ‘Scale’ across the abutment walls.
Themes of activity and movement are brought to life through the scales’ angled positions from the wall face creating a dynamic visual rhythm for passing commuters, pedestrians and cyclists. This dynamic is enhanced through material, colour, imagery, and back-lit illumination. Â
The artwork known as ‘Scale’, has been developed by local landscape architect and artist Phin Murphy, the winner of the competition for the design for this project under the auspices of Frankston City and the Frankston Suburban Revitalisation Board, funded by the Victorian Government. Murphy’s design has become a transformative artwork that respects the Fletcher Road Overpass as an important gateway to Frankston.Â
The artwork draws inspiration from the narrative of local themes.Â
Photography: Phin Murphy
Photography: Phin Murphy
‘Scale’ melds the themes of water, movement and marine heritage via the narrative of the epic migration of the Australian short-finned eel. These remarkable fish spend years of existence in inland waterways, such as the nearby Kananook Creek in Frankston. The 7.5-kilometre Kananook Walking Trail follows the creek from the mouth at Frankston Pier to Eel Race Road.
These remarkable creatures leave the inland waterways for an epic 3000-kilometre return migration to the Coral Sea and back, one year later. This great movement is depicted within the artwork as adult eels travelling downstream in Kananook Creek to enter the marine environment. Their migratory pattern is mirrored in the artwork’s seasonal lighting. Beginning with the downstream movement in the spring; fattening in the estuaries in preparation for the long journey in the summer months; entering the salt water as Silver Eels during autumn and arriving in the Coral Sea during the Australian winter to breed and die. Â
‘Scale’ is a physical echo of water and, in part, the very scales of the Eels which inspired the creation. Â
OUR BRIEF
The depth in the relief of the undulating panels created the opportunity for indirect view backlighting. The offset in the undulation of the scales created sufficient room for the installation of a compact high powered LED lighting system that could direct light both upwards and downwards onto the panels above and below whilst allowing light to graze the surface of the abutment below the artwork as well as deliberately spilling light onto the undercroft of the bridge above. Â
The lighting was to provide RGBW colour mixing, be as durable as possible, and use AC powered fixtures to solve the voltage drop issues as the power supply point was distant.
The lighting programs on the east and west abutments must be synchronised, this was a challenge as there could be no data cable connection between. illumination Physics was to develop the light fixture, the illuminated outcome, and the programming of the lights to the satisfaction of the artist and the council. Â
OUR SOLUTION
Given the required shape of the beam of light, and the space available behind the scales, a short linear light fixture would be ideal. A 4-in-1 RGBW LED mounted in a custom IP Linear Wash Quattro AC, 300mm long was tested and chosen. There was only space enough for 6 RGBW Leds, but when combined with a 10 X 60-degree asymmetric lens, the desired coverage was achieved. The 4-in-1 LED is the ideal choice as the short-range colour mixing is excellent. Â
The abutments are not a mirror of each other and the number of scales and therefore light fixtures is not the same. The east elevation would have 15 light fixtures and the west façade 9 fixtures. Â
A standard linear AC powered light fixture carries a belly pack containing the PSU plus the in and out connections for the combined DMX and AC power cables. However, because of the short 300mm fixture and other limitations of space, the belly pack would be mounted separately but very close to the luminaire part of the fixture. The in and out cables allow the fixtures to be connected in in a normal daisy-chain. The belly pack was modified to have suitable mounting brackets as was the luminaire. Â
Following successful mock-ups in Melbourne, illumination Physics designed the lighting installation completely, including the layout, the bracketry, and all the special cables – all made to pre-determined lengths so that no wiring was required on site. All starter and interlinking cables are fitted with moulded-on, push to snap connectors. Every component was labelled in the factory and marked on the construction drawings, to make the installation as simple as possible. The DMX addresses were pre-set in the factory to alleviate the cost and inconvenience of doing this on-site.  Â
Because it was not possible to run cables between the east and west facades, two electrical pillars were provided, one on either side of Fletcher Road. A Visual Productions Quadcore DMX playback unit was installed in both. The animated lighting displays were programmed and are synchronised by time of day. Power and data are delivered to the first fixture in each façade with a single AC/DMX cable.Â
The ‘Scale’ public artwork has transformed a forgettable structure into a memorable location. Meticulously planned and executed this visually delightful and durable installation will brighten the journey of millions over time.
Photography: Phin Murphy
EQUIPMENT LIST
- IP linear series Quattro 300mm RGBW 10x65 fixtures with remote driver and custom mounting brackets x 24
- 2 x Visual Productions Quadcore lighting controllers