A new light-based installation artwork by John Radford at Britomart has been designed to highlight the grand old building's architectural features and is a commentary on the importance of architecture to provide continuity in a world of constant change.

Lux Flux consists of 200 small, clear LED lights and incandescent bulbs scattered across the façade of Old Sofrana House, one of the 18 heritage buildings being preserved as part of the Britomart urban renewal project. At night, pedestrian movements through the precinct trigger the lights, causing them to flicker across the 110-year-old façade in a seemingly random 15-second sequence. A new light-based installation artwork by John Radford at Britomart has been designed to highlight the grand old building's architectural features and is a commentary on the importance of architecture to provide continuity in a world of constant change.

Lux Flux consists of 200 small, clear LED lights and incandescent bulbs scattered across the façade of Old Sofrana House, one of the 18 heritage buildings being preserved as part of the Britomart urban renewal project. At night, pedestrian movements through the precinct trigger the lights, causing them to flicker across the 110-year-old façade in a seemingly random 15-second sequence."People come and go, but buildings remain largely constant," says Radford, whose work often returns to the subject of architectural heritage. "Historic buildings gather evidence of lives lived, of time passing in human terms. They're repositories of deep layered histories of memory, people and place, and it's vital for us to preserve them."

Themes of permanence and flux are explored in the Britomart work through the kinetic play of light. The two types of lighting and their varying angles are intended to evoke the lights of Britomart's past, from gaslight to electric lights to the endlessly shifting patterns of sunlight.

"While Old Sofrana House has stayed more or less the same over the decades, the light moving over it has been subject to constant shifts and changes," says Radford. "Each moment of illumination in the artwork is like a tiny snapshot of a moment in the building's history."

Lux Flux was commissioned by the Britomart Arts Foundation as the first of a series of temporary installations that will appear throughout the precinct in the coming months.

Radford says he was delighted to have the opportunity to create an artwork at Britomart. While many contemporary developments erase the past life of a place, the care and respect for the heritage environment at the heart of the Britomart development is something that resonates strongly with him.

"I'm very excited about what's being done down here. It's brilliant having this concentration of historic buildings in one place and even better that they're going to be preserved so beautifully."

Radford has long mourned the demolition of many of Auckland's beautiful old buildings and his works, like the 1998 TIP sculptures in Ponsonby's Western Park, often reference the destruction of historic structures. The Lux Flux installation is designed to draw the attention of passers-by and encourage them to appreciate Old Sofrana House for the enduring architectural treasure it is.

The work's interactivity is deliberately subtle. "It's interactive without the 'bling' factor we've come to expect from interactive experiences," says Radford. "I like the idea of people being encouraged to explore the Britomart environment, actively engaging with it to try and determine how the lights are triggered. We wanted to incorporate an element of discovery into the work."

The work is installed on the Galway Street façade at the rear of the building, which overlooks Station Plaza behind the Britomart Transport Centre. Its trigger points are located opposite Old Sofrana House, near the volcanic cone water feature in Station Plaza, and further away outside the Northern Steamship Co BrewBar & Restaurant on the corner of Gore and Tyler Streets.

Old Sofrana House, which currently houses Eon Design Centre on its ground floor, was designed by John Currie and built at the turn of the 20th century for British firm Hayman & Co. It served as a warehouse and store for Hayman & Co's various departments including jewellery, tobacco, musical goods, saddlery, stationery, crockery and other household items. The building received its current name from shipping company Sofrana Immobilier Ltd, who leased the building in the 1980s.

Lux Flux is intended to remain in place at Old Sofrana House for up to two years, until refurbishment of the building commences. It will be renovated as part of Cooper and Company's development of Britomart, which includes the refurbishment of 18 heritage buildings, the construction of seven new ones and the creation of a network of pedestrian walkways and open public spaces.

Lux Flux is the first of an ongoing programme of public artworks that will be featured throughout the Britomart precinct during the development process and beyond. Details of further artworks and installations will be added at www.britomart.org as they appear.

09/06/08