Central Park

‘Halo’ makes a spectacular new addition to the City of Sydney’s public art collection

Halo is a wind activated kinetic sculpture by two of Australia’s pre-eminent public artists, Jennifer Turpin and Michaelie Crawford. Part of Central Park’s $8 million public art collection, Halo was commissioned by Frasers Property and Sekisui House in collaboration with the City of Sydney, and the artwork – together with Chippendale Green – will be given to the City of Sydney upon completion.

Jennifer Turpin says Halo is an extraordinary integration of art, science and engineering acting in collaboration with the natural environment.

“It’s as much an invention as it is an artwork,” she says.

As its name suggests, Halo comprises a giant, glistening tapered yellow ring measuring 12 metres in diameter attached to a 6 metre long silver arm, it pivots off-centre atop a 13 metre high tilted silver pole. The ring itself is made from carbon fibre, an ultra-light yet incredibly strong and robust material, often used in high-end boat manufacturing. The ring has been painted in a pearlescent glaze which catches the light and gives the ring an intense golden glow.

Activated only by the power of the wind, the ring tilts and turns in response to its ever-changing speed, direction and gusts. The entire weight of the ring and arm balances on a tiny ceramic bearing the size of a small glass marble.

“Halo’s deceptively simple form belies the complexity of its multi-disciplinary engineering," says Jennifer.

Halo has been nominated for an Engineering Excellence Award for the management of the unique engineering expertise involved in delivering its structure and movement.

“The inspiration for Halo came from the history and industrial forms of the old brewery combined with a dynamic response to the natural and built environment of the new precinct,” according to artist Michaelie Crawford. “The beautiful circular supports for the enormous old brewing vats inspired Halo’s form and a desire to reference the tipsy effects of beer resulted in the ring’s precarious balance and off-centred tipping and turning.“

Taking three years of extensive research, testing and design, the creation of Halo was a monumental undertaking in itself, requiring the expertise of several specialist engineers, designers and fabricators lead by Jeremy Sparks of Partridge Event Engineering.

Following extensive testing in Nowra and here in Sydney's Carriageworks, Halo has now been installed within Chippendale Green, and was formally opened by Lord Mayor Clover Moore on Tuesday 14 August at a joyous celebration. Chippendale Green will open to the public in December. In the meantime, this monumental artwork is best viewed from O'Connor Street, Chippendale, or across the construction site from Broadway.

SPECIAL PUBLIC VIEWING EVENT | Come down to Chippendale Green on Saturday 25 August from 11am to 3pm to get up close to 'Halo'. Grab a coffee from the Mojo Expresso coffee cart, flop onto a bean bag and enjoy a reclining view of this fabulous kinetic artwork. Visit 'Central Park Sydney' on Facebook for details.