Yatala lights artists write open letter in defence of controversial project

Artists behind the controversial lights on the M1 at Yatala have launched a passionate defence of the project, inviting people to see its “welcoming” and “mysterious” messages. READ WHAT THEY SAID

The artists who created a controversial lights installation on the M1 at Yatala have defended it, saying “the sparkle of the sculpture evokes the stars above”.

They also say the $2.1 million lights - which spell “GOLD COAST” but can’t be seen by passing motorists - should be seen by viewed by drivers as “like a caterpillar into a butterfly”.

Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, principals of New York-based firm Lot-ek, wrote to councillors after learning about plans to tear down the notorious sculpture, officially known as Hi-Lights.

In their open letter they said the artwork was being “scapegoated” for “irresponsible driving” on the M1, there needed to be “public eduction about public art”, and council shared with them a “collective responsibility to sustain (the artwork) for future generations”.

“Hi-Lights can – and should – be talked about ever more actively and ever more thoughtfully,” they said.

“This is one of the things art is for, and that we can do for art. Together, we can open a conversation on the many feelings and meanings that people continue to bring to the sculpture.”

The controversial lights installation on the M1 at Yatala. Picture: Mike Batterham.

They wrote that their intention with the sculpture - which costs $30,000 to maintain annually with a $5500 electricity bill - was “grounded in how public art can help all of us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.”

“In the case of the site-specific sculpture of Hi-Lights, as you drive to Gold Coast on the highway, the generic road lights that you’ve seen for many kilometres suddenly gather, and transform – like a caterpillar into a butterfly – into something specific, welcoming, and a little mysterious,” they said.

“Although the pattern of lights in the sculpture is informed by the letters in the words Gold and Coast, this hidden message is only one of many possible readings: the sparkle of the sculpture evokes the stars above and the play of sunlight on the waves in the surf nearby.”

Councillors at a Transport and Infrastructure Committee meeting on March 14 unanimously voted to spend $250,000 to remove the lights at Yatala and sell them.

The decision followed reports the lights had become a magnet for hoons.

A full council vote on the matter will take place on Tuesday.

THE LETTER IN FULL

To the Mayor and to the Gold Coast Councillors;

We have learned from ABC news reports that the Gold Coast public artwork Hi-Lights may be at risk of destruction as a consequence of being scapegoated for recent irresponsible driving along the M1 highway nearby. We would like to take this opportunity to reconnect with Council to support your stewardship of the work, and our collective responsibility to sustain it for future generations.

As artists from the other side of the world, we cannot speak as wisely as yourselves to questions of local social policy and policing, and to the judicious expenditure of public resources to address those questions, going forward. But we can speak to the value and purpose of public art. We have been humbled and inspired by the support for public art from the people of Gold Coast, and we feel a lifelong connection and commitment to your beautiful part of the world. A sculpture like Hi-Lights makes visible Gold Coast at its best: joyful, sophisticated, and a world-class global destination for culture, sport, and recreation. Although any single work of art cannot be to every personal taste, as a practical matter we know from the successful example of Miami and Miami Beach, here in America, that civic investment in local and international art and design is a natural complement to the economy of a beach resort and travel destination.

‘The sparkle of the sculpture evokes the stars above’. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt.

We would like to suggest taking advantage of the current situation as an opportunity to communicate more deeply with the Gold Coast community. Hi-Lights can — and should — be talked about ever more actively and ever more thoughtfully. This is one of the things art is for, and that we can do for art. Together, we can open a conversation on the many feelings and meanings that people continue to bring to the sculpture. Art offers emotions and perceptions, not directions or instructions.

Our intention for Hi-Lights has been grounded in how public art can help all of us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. In the case of the site-specific sculpture of Hi-Lights, as you drive to Gold Coast on the highway, the generic road lights that you’ve seen for many kilometres suddenly gather, and transform — like a caterpillar into a butterfly — into something specific, welcoming, and a little mysterious. Although the pattern of lights in the sculpture is informed by the letters in the words Gold and Coast, this hidden message is only one of many possible readings: the sparkle of the sculpture evokes the stars above and the play of sunlight on the waves in the surf nearby. This transition from ordinary to extraordinary evokes the experience of holidaying or living in Gold Coast — a memory we cherish from our own time there.

We feel that the current conversation about this artwork is an opportunity for public education about public art, and how it informs and elevates all our lives. We would be honored to join in this conversation with you, and look forward to deepening our affection and participation with the places and people of Gold Coast.

Kind regards,

Ada Tolla, Giuseppe Lignano and the LOT-EK team

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