A monumental glowing star sculpture with ambient soundscape by Studio Vertigo, the first public artwork in the newly pedestrianised Pavilion Square.
Nova, a large-scale light and sound installation by Studio Vertigo, is coming to Pavilion Square from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October. It's part of the Dreamy Place festival produced by videoclub, and it's the first public artwork to be exhibited in the newly pedestrianised square in front of the Royal Pavilion.
The sculpture takes its name from a nova — the kind of star that forms when a dormant star reignites and brightens dramatically. It's a monumental glowing star with more than 56,000 tiny apertures pierced through its surface. Light shines through the reflective metal to cast swirling, galaxy-like patterns across the sculpture and the surrounding ground, while smoke effects make it feel as though a star has been brought down to Earth.
There's a sonic side to it too. The ambient soundscape is built from sonified audio from NASA's open-science programme, which translates astronomical data into gentle tones and textures. So the sound you're hearing is actually based on data from space.
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Studio Vertigo is the UK art and design collective behind it, founded by artists Lucy McDonnell and Stephen Newby. They've shown work internationally, with exhibitions in Seoul, Amsterdam, Taiwan and Sydney.
Nova runs from 11:00 to 21:00 on all three days, so you can catch it during the day or when it's dark and the light patterns really stand out. It's at Pavilion Square on George Road, next to the War Memorial at the Old Steine (BN1 1EF), and entry is free.
