As pieces of public art go, Hull definitely hasn’t gone down the “shy and retiring” route. Instead, they’ve installed an absolutely huge wind turbine blade into the city centre, measuring 75 metres long.
“Blade” is Hull’s latest spectacular contribution to their UK City of Culture programme. The piece was designed by multimedia artist Nayan Kulkarni and was built by workers at the Siemens factory in Hull.
Kulkarni said: “This ready made artwork, 75 metres long, will divide the square forming a temporary impediment to a free flow. Carefully positioned it will force us to drift around its arabesque edges, our sight taking the place of the breeze. The twisting wing although inert and at rest in the street, speaks of movement, but not of freedom.”
The work drives home the links between cultural events planned for Hull 2017 and the economic transformation of the city.
Organisers and civic leaders have consistently used the £300 million investment by Siemens in its state-of-the-art offshore wind manufacturing plant as a symbol for the city’s economic resurgence.
Huge congrats to Hull's Siemens workers who helped build this #blade which will be on display #Hull2017 #MadeInHull pic.twitter.com/S2eVfILjiO
— Caroline Brockelbank (@CBrockelbank) January 8, 2017
As you can probably imagine, the logistics of getting the 28-tonne artwork to its destination in the heart of the busy city were complex. More than 50 items of street furniture, including traffic lights and lamp posts, had to be removed to facilitate its journey into the city centre which started before sunrise – and eager people from the city were up early to catch its progress.
Up and about early to witness this #blade 'sneak' into Victoria square #militaryoperation @2017Hull pic.twitter.com/jwHPgaljbS
— PJVAC (@PJVAC78) January 8, 2017
#Blade is part of the #LookUp installations & will cut right through Queen Victoria Square, stretching 75m hinged on 2 tripods! pic.twitter.com/fhx0un0swv
— destination Hull (@destinationHull) January 8, 2017
New Year’s Day marked the start of Hull’s year-long tenure as UK City of Culture 2017, and this is another very exciting addition to the programme.
Wow, #Blade looks pretty impressive, can't wait to cycle under it #Hull2017
— J K (@knaggsjd) January 8, 2017
Congratulations #NayanKulkarni @SiemensUKNews @Hull2017 on #Blade #Look up it's stunning. The buzz continues. #Hull2017 #Hull
— Joanne Fenton (@Fifi42) January 8, 2017
When Blade finally made it to the square, people couldn’t quite believe how huge it really was. How on earth was it going to fit?!
Here it comes #Blade #MadeInHull #Hull2017 pic.twitter.com/v0dGMVnGAP
— Cllr Alan Clark (@CllrAlanClark) January 8, 2017
Can't quite get the whole thing in shot #blade @2017Hull pic.twitter.com/4D5qvcSVxz
— Clair Chamberlain (@ClairChamberlai) January 8, 2017
It really did feel like a tight squeeze – some people thought things were looking a bit touch and go.
We might need a bigger square. #blade #Hull2017 pic.twitter.com/UAQJJoXomK
— John Lawson (@jay__ell) January 8, 2017
And finally, to everyone’s delight, it was up! Considering it set off before sunrise and was only installed mid-afternoon, it certainly felt like a long time coming.
Blade is the first work to be installed in Hull as part of Look Up, a year-long programme of artists’ works made specifically for the city’s public places and spaces. The artwork will remain in Queen Victoria Square until March 18.