Alexander Beleschenko was commissioned to create a new bridge for the Phoenix Initiative in Coventry, working in collaboration with Whitby Bird and MJP Architects. The design of the bridge, lined with over 800 glass fins, was inspired by the idea of the local ribbon industry.
‘Each fin of glass is industrially screen-printed with a gradation, from the faintest mist to a dense solidity of enamel dots. This delicate detail contrasts with the large scale of the bridge. To order the fins with eight different patterns of gradation I used a random method.
Blue was chosen as the colour of the glass, most obviously to connect with the sky, but also for its particular visual properties. From a distance things appear more blue: it is the colour of distance and of the spaces beyond us. It was important that the glass would work as effectively with daylight as with the dramatic artificial night-time lighting.’ Alex Beleschenko
This work is part of the Phoenix Initiative Public Art Programme, curated and managed by Modus Operandi.
