Nocturne Lighting Up The River Tyne

N octurne or ‘The Light on         should light up the Queen          the Tyne’ is a colorful         Elizabeth II Bridge too.           light artwork, which is on                                         Newcastle’s Queen Elizabeth II        After observing the water below    Bridge.                               the bridge, Kulkarni decided to                                          use colour-changing lights on      The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge         Nocturne. He said: "Like the       carries the Tyne and Wear Metro       slowly moving waters below the     across the River Tyne, between        steelwork, I wanted to create a    Newcastle and Gateshead. It was       light work that would constantly   purpose-built to form a part of       change."                           the Tyne and Wear public                                                 transport network at a cost of        To light the bridge, Nocturne      £4.9million. The queen officially     uses 36 banks of LED lights,       opened the bridge in 1981,            which are set within the steel     although it had already been in       structure of the bridge itself.    use for some time.                    Kulkarni decided to use LED                                              lights, as they are compact, long  Since 1980, Nexus, operators of       lasting and energy efficient. In   the Tyne and Wear Metro, has been     fact, the LEDs that illuminate     commissioning artwork to improve      Nocturne use less energy in a      their customer’s public transport     year than the amount used by an    experience. In 2006, they             average British family.            commissioned Nayan Kulkarni to                                           install Nocturne, a huge artwork      Nocturne or ‘The Light on the      on the bridge. As the River           Tyne’ is a colorful light          Tyne’s Millennium Bridge, Tyne        artwork, which is on Newcastle’s   Bridge, High Level and Swing          Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.         Bridges were already illuminated,                                        it was decided that this artwork      The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge      carries the Tyne and Wear Metro       Since 1980, Nexus, operators of    across the River Tyne, between        the Tyne and Wear Metro, has been  Newcastle and Gateshead. It was       commissioning artwork to improve   purpose-built to form a part of       their customer’s public transport  the Tyne and Wear public              experience. In 2006, they          transport network at a cost of        commissioned Nayan Kulkarni to     £4.9million. The queen officially     install Nocturne, a huge artwork   opened the bridge in 1981,            on the bridge. As the River        although it had already been in       Tyne’s Millennium Bridge, Tyne     use for some time.                    Bridge, High Level and Swing                                             Bridges were already illuminated,  For Nocturne, the bridge was          it was decided that this artwork   painted with two distinctive          should light up the Queen          shades of blue, which meant that      Elizabeth II Bridge too.           the artwork could also be enjoyed                                        during the day. However, it is        Following its completion on 26     during the evening that Nocturne      April 2007, Nocturne became the    really comes alive, as the bridge     biggest light artwork in Britain   is bathed in a kaleidoscope of        and is expected to remain on the   colored lights. The colors of the     bridge for at least 15 years.      bridge’s LED lights were based on     Nocturne took 18 months to         photographs submitted by members      install and cost £300,000 to       of the public and this has given      create, but when you see the       Kulkarni’s artwork a real             bridge lit up in all of its        community focus.                      glory, you’ll realise that it was                                        worth every penny.                 About the Author: Beverley Bukowski Website: http://www.escortnewcastlekirsten.co.uk Beverley Bukowski is a former model from Newcastle, UK. She is a keen amateur journalist and used to be a Newcastle escort. Published At: www.Isnare.com