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Sapphire Aluminium

The Blowhole Sculpture

Location:Docklands Melbourne, Australia
Architect:Duncan Stemler
Finishes:Anodised in Bright Tornado - AA25, Bright Wattle - AA25, Bright Cobalt - AA25, Bright Chrome - AA25, Matt Kalamata - AA25
Product:Sapphire Anodised Bright Finishes 25 micron
Completed:2005

Sapphire was approached in 2004 by Architect Dean Stemler to provide anodised finishes to create a 15-metre-high wind-powered kinetic sculpture.

Its many moving parts include arms and anodised aluminium cups in several of Sapphire’s Finishes including Bright Tornado Red, Bright Cobalt, Bright Wattle, Bright Chrome and Bright Kalamata, which interact with each other to form changing patterns, colours and shadows.

Reflecting the site’s maritime theme, together the cups resemble the form of an anemometer, used on top of a yacht’s mast. Blowhole is an environmentally responsive artwork, expressing states ranging from calmness to frenzy, with the rotation speed of its element’s dependent on the strength and direction of the wind.

By day, the anodised cups pulse with reflected sunlight, by night they are lit from within. The sculpture also can change its full aspect as it rotates around its vertical axis.

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