\n Brighton artist Charlie Hooker, who designed the sculptures, said: “I actually think they are more beautiful than before.”\n<\/p>\n
\n A panel of arts advisers and Standard Life representatives awarded the commission to Mr Hooker in 1996 after a competition to find a landmark for the revamped centre.\n<\/p>\n
\n The former professor of sculpture at the University of Brighton spent almost two years designing and building the installation with a team of assistants.\n<\/p>\n
\n Three decades on, the sculpture has been refurbished with modern technology while preserving its environmental message.\n<\/p>\n
\n Charlie Hooker, 72 (Image: NQ staff)\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Hooker, who lives in Uckfield, said climate science and the natural forces shaping everyday life inspired the artwork.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: “At the time I was working closely with scientists and helping communicate scientific ideas to the public.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The artwork uses sound, light and sculpture to reflect the changing seasons.\n<\/p>\n
\n The installation is split into two halves, with autumn and winter on one side and spring and summer on the other. Its 12 sections represent the months of the year.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Hooker composed a piece of music for each month, creating a changing soundscape driven by sunlight.\n<\/p>\n
\n The work was inspired by a meteorological instrument called a sunshine recorder.\n<\/p>\n
\n The device focuses sunlight through a glass sphere on to a card, burning a visible track when the sun shines.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hooker installed a sunshine recorder on Churchill Square\u2019s roof in 1997, recording the sun\u2019s track at the start and end of each month.\n<\/p>\n
\n The patterns were converted into music using audio software, then etched permanently into the sculpture\u2019s bronze panels.\n<\/p>\n
\n The resulting compositions range from what Hooker describes as “hot, lively sounds” in spring and summer to “cold, stormy sounds” during autumn and winter.\n<\/p>\n
\n When sunlight hits the sculpture\u2019s sensors, its music grows louder and richer.\n<\/p>\n
\n On cloudy days, the music softens; at night, it fades completely.\n<\/p>\n
\n At dusk, energy stored during the day powers lights that project two six-pointed stars across the piazza floor.\n<\/p>\n
\n From a distance, the illuminated sculptures look like two glowing forms joined by light.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hooker, 73, said: “I wanted something that changed every day and throughout the year.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Each granite plinth doubles as a seat, allowing visitors to lean back against the sculptures and hear the changing soundscape.\n<\/p>\n
\n Professor Charlie Hooker stood outside the statues as they are rebuilt (Image: NQ staff)\n<\/p>\n
\n After three decades of public use, the artwork\u2019s original electronics and lighting had begun to fail.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Hooker said members of the public had repeatedly contacted him to ask why parts of the installation no longer worked properly.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ikea’s parent company, which owns Churchill Square, approached him to bring the sculptures back to life.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sheffield-based audio-visual specialists AVAC Ltd carried out the work, having also created the original electronics in the late 1990s.\n<\/p>\n
\n The new version includes Bluetooth-controlled systems, upgraded lighting and more energy-efficient technology.\n<\/p>\n
\n The restoration retained the original bronze, granite, steel and glass, recycling the materials into the upgraded work.\n<\/p>\n
\n Several cracked granite panels were repaired using kintsugi, the Japanese technique of highlighting damage with gold rather than hiding it.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Hooker said: “The whole philosophy is to show the history and value the history of something.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The artist closely supervised the restoration, regularly visiting the factory to oversee the installation\u2019s look, sound and character.\n<\/p>\n
\n For Mr Hooker, who left school at 15 before studying at Brighton Polytechnic, the project means more than preserving public art.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Hooker said: “We’re all linked into that system of climate and we have to take care of it.\n<\/p>\n
\n “What I try to do is help people see how precious the balance of nature is.”\n<\/p>\n
\n As the Twins return to Churchill Square, Hooker hopes its message remains as relevant as ever.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: “Twins is fundamentally about the environment and climate science.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It invites us to think about the natural balance that powers our planet and the importance of maintaining it.”\n<\/p>\n
\n With renewed sound, light and solar-powered technology, the sculptures look set to tell that story for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Officially called the Twins but known locally as the “Orbs”, the structures were commissioned during Churchill Square\u2019s redevelopment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-786914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}