“Waste of money.” That’s what some locals said about the Gold Coast Streetlight Sign Sculpture. But let’s delve into the story behind these eye-catching structures.
The Gold Coast Streetlight Sign Sculpture consists of two gateway signs named Hi-Lights. These installations were designed by New York-based firm Lot-ek. They were a legacy project from the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The City of Gold Coast and the Queensland State Government co-funded them.
The northern gateway is in Yatala along the Pacific Motorway. It spells out “Gold Coast” twice using 79 light poles and 254 lights. The southern gateway is on the Gold Coast Highway in Bilinga. It displays “GC” with 22 light poles and 42 lights. You can see it from the Gold Coast Airport.
Lot-ek’s principals, Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, won an international design competition in 2017. Their idea was to rethink highway light poles. They wanted to create something extraordinary from the ordinary. The plaque at the base of the “GC” gateway explains this vision.
The Gold Coast Streetlight Sign Sculpture is meant to be a sustainable luxury. The light poles transform into signs, different from simple streetlights. The bristling lampposts catch your eye during the day. At night, they glimmer, demanding attention.
The designers painted the structures with “Naples” yellow. They wanted to encourage thinking as people drive by. Lignano says the sculptures are built for future generations. The white lights reference international highway color codes. This makes them visible in smoky conditions or at night.
Some community members found the clustered light poles visually distracting. There were even suggestions to relocate the Gold Coast Streetlight Sign Sculpture. Others appreciate its graceful industrial and technology-art design. They see the sculptural lampposts as legible signs from a distance.
Jay Younger was the Lead Curator for Creative Move. He produced a curatorial rationale for the Gateways Public Art Commission. This included papers on the Gold Coast context and public art controversies.
The artists’ brief stated the artwork should be visually bold and memorable. It should engage the public and media. It needed to express a concept befitting the city’s future. The artwork should also provide an arrival and departure experience.
The primary experience of these artworks is from vehicles. Drivers travel at high speeds on the M1 and Gold Coast Highway. Driver safety was a key consideration in the design. The Gold Coast Streetlight Sign Sculpture acts as a welcome landmark. It evokes feelings of homecoming or anticipation.
Even though Lot-ek originally wanted to reuse lamp posts, it proved too difficult. Instead, they carefully crafted new spatial experiences. These allow people to explore “Hi-Lights” as an exercise in the mundane yet elegant. The Gold Coast Streetlight Sign Sculpture is a gutsy attempt. It digests the heavy traffic off the highway. They are sensible billboards without the need for scaffolding backdrops.