Liverpool's Web of Light
The latest spider to wow the crowds in Capital of Culture, Liverpool, is an eye-catching crystal chandelier spider, which is being added as the finishing touch to the city's 'Web of Light' art installation project.
Designed by Al Weiwei, the consultant artist for the 2008 Olympics 'Bird's Nest' stadium in Beijing, the 'Web of Light' is the latest in a show-stopping series of cultural events taking place in Liverpool. J&J Carter has constructed the 'web' using 400 metres of stainless steel cables, to which LED lighting will be added. The web spans the width and length of the city's Exchange Flags square and took less than 4 weeks to complete, with the contractor taking the challenges of carrying out works in the heavily pedestrianised area in their stride.
The 19 metre high structure spanning Exchange Flags, the largest pedestrianised square in Liverpool, is part of the city's Biennial festival. Liverpool Biennial is the UK's largest and most widely reviewed festival of contemporary visual art, commissioning large scale projects for the public to enjoy each year.
A spokesperson at Arup, who appointed J&J Carter, commented at the completion of the project, "From a design point of view this was an extremely challenging piece of engineering design and we had to have complete confidence in the manufacture and erection - which we did get from J&J Carter. Also the programme was incredibly tight and from when we first approached them very late in the day they did deliver to the project deadlines."
