HALO

source: highlike

Work: A gigantic glowing ring of light floats in the night sky above The National Archives in Paris, October 2009.

Hovering at the threshold of fantasy and reality a gigantic circle of light crowns a repository of history. Floating like an apparition, its futuristic form defies gravity as it enshrines the epicentre of French culture – the National Archives in Paris. It is ‘Nuit Blanche’ and two million people are walking the streets of Paris in search of wonder. In the 3rd arrondissement (the Marias), a few hundred paces from the Centre Pompidou, something unreal is happening in an ancient courtyard. An enormous band of pink light is radiating mystery over the crowds beneath it. The neoclassical walls seem to be cradling something from an imaginary domain. The form is so enormous and yet so gentle that the frenetic crowds outside are subdued as they filter in to the courtyard, mesmerized. Silent.

Installation:
The HALO required a team of twenty people to assemble. The structure has a surface area of 560m2 and required 422m3 of helium. It has an internal air-pressurized, expandable envelope controlled by electric fans, to keep the greater surface taught as the helium expands and contracts in changing weather conditions. 24 flourescent flights are suspended inside the helium envelope. The entire system is operated by a remote control winch, rigged to a system of pulleys attached to four primary ballast points: a forklift, a truck, a car and 2 tons of sand. The lift and drag ratios are exceedingly large (the balloon could carry three or four people into the sky without any wind). In addition to the four main ballast points, 12 control cables (each attached to 100kg concrete weights) were manually adjusted as the HALO was raised. The HALO can fly at 100m.

About: Michael Elion (b.1975) is an artist/architect. He obtained his architecture degrees at the University of Cape Town and the Architectural Association (AA) in London, and a Master of Philosophy (aesthetics) in Paris. He has worked with world-renowned architects and artists in Paris (Xavier Veilhan), (Pierre Huyghe), Rome (Massimiliano Fuksas) and Berlin (Daniel Libeskind) and has produced giant artworks that engage with the urban environment, and aim to enrich our experience our experience of the city. Through his work, Michael continues to challenge the status quo and asks whether our city spaces could not be re-thought, re-considered, re-imagined.
With ‘Pink Street’, during FIAC art fair (Paris, 2008), Michael transformed the urban landscape next to the Picasso Museum. In 2012 he created real rainbows over several streets in Cape Town. For World Design Capital 2014, Michael hung 1000 faceted glass crystals from lampposts in the center of Cape Town; the crystals create brilliant flashes of coloured light that pepper the Cape skyline on sunny days. Also in 2014, the South African Post Office created 5 special edition national stamps that feature Michael Elion, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Miriam Makeba and Mark Shuttleworth.

Photographer: Ludovic De Foucaud
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source: michaelelion

HALO at the French National Archives in Paris for the annual ‘Nuit Blanche’ arts festival, October 2009.

The structure measures 22m x 3m, has a surface area of 560m2 and required 422 cubic meters of helium to fill. It has an internal air-pressurized, expandable balloon sleeve (darker band in image below) controlled by electric fans and pressure release valves. This internal balloon regulates the overall pressure which keeps the greater surface taught as the helium expands and contracts in changing weather conditions. 24 Pink fluorescent lights are suspended inside the HALO. The entire structure is operated by a remote control winch, rigged to a system of pulleys attached to four primary ballast points; a forklift, a truck, a car and 2 tons of sand. The lift and drag ratios are exceedingly large, the HALO could carry three or four people into the sky without any wind. In addition to the four main ballast points, 12 control cables each attached to 100kg concrete weights were manually adjusted as the HALO was raised. It can fly at 100m and requires a team of twenty people to install. It cost €30,000 to produce.

Michael Elion (b.1975) is an artist/architect. He obtained his architecture degrees at the University of Cape Town and the Architectural Association (AA) in London, and a Master of Philosophy (aesthetics) in Paris. He has worked with world renowned architects and artists in Paris (Xavier Veilhan), (Pierre Huyghe), Rome (Massimiliano Fuksas) and Berlin (Daniel Libeskind) and has produced giant artworks that engage with the urban environment.

The Michael Elion Company (Pty) Ltd is a design and fabrication company specializing in the production of precision crafted artworks and large-scale installations.