Installed in Penang, Malaysia, Star was a large-scale light sculpture in the shape of a star by artist and architect Jun Ong.
About Star
The star is set at the core of an unfinished concrete building that spans all five floors from the ground to the roof. It forms a 12-sided polygon, also called a dodecahedron in 3D, visible from several kilometers away. The light installation blazes in white light encompassing the whole building, but it seems like a bright floating star when seen from afar.
How the sculpture was made
Star is made from over 500 meters of steel cables and LED light strips. The wires are attached to different surfaces; the ground, cantilever beams, slabs, and adjacent buildings. When lit and seen from a distance, the light beams look seamless. At a closer range, it seems as though they penetrate the floors uninterrupted.
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The inspiration behind it
The idea of an abstract light installation was inspired by a ‘glitch’, which are the visible arcs of light that form when an electric carrying object experiences a spike in voltage. Jun Ong believed that such a glitch could be presented as a 3D object on a large scale.
For a first-time viewer, Star looks like an error, looking out of place with its placement in a bare concrete building in a fading town.
Jun Ong says that, like most of his works, Star was inspired by nature’s light and outer space. The artwork seeks to show both sides of the intangibility as well as the tangibility of light. Jun Ong also transforms other generic LED strips and steel cables into art.
About Jun Ong
Jun Ong is known for his light sculptures. His ideas are applicable in many spaces. The majority of his works are done using pristine LED tubes. Star was his first attempt at a large scale light installation.
