Rigging is being erected around the circumference of Front Square in preparation for a fireworks display occurring this evening for the Science Gallery’s tenth anniversary.
Three distinctive areas for the firework display are currently being installed. Staging is being erected in front of the Chapel and beside the Campanile, where pyrotechnic artworks will be on display from 6pm this evening. Additional rigging is being erected along either side of the footpath leading up to Front Arch.
Derek Williams, the technical director of the Science Gallery, spoke to Trinity News about the event tonight. Speaking on the use of fireworks, Williams clarified: “We’re using fireworks but it’s not a traditional fireworks display, so there’s nothing going to be shot up in the air, nothing banging. We’re using fireworks to create art.”
Williams explained that the theme of the night will be stars, or “Realta,” the official title of the art installation. The site-specific explosive art installations are inspired by science and nature as well as the features of Front Square and its surrounding buildings.
Outside the Chapel, spectators will see copper disks emitting flares and polycarbonate boxes containing lights to create interesting visual displays. Lining the path near Front Arch will be a “curtain of sparks” with performers dancing underneath.
The site-specific explosive art installation was created by Aoife von Linden Tol for the gallery’s tenth anniversary. Von Linden Tol has recently been appointed the European Space Agency’s Artist in Residence for a year.
The fireworks spectacle forms part of the gallery’s day of events which promote science and celebrate the educational services the Science Gallery has provided over the last decade to the general public. To close the celebrations, live music will be performed at the gallery. Entrance into the Front Square for the display has already been sold out.
