Mushroom Lighting were approached in December 2017 by the installation electrical company Welford Lamplighters, on behalf of the installation artist Jason DeCaires Taylor, to design a lighting scheme for his latest project, the Coralarium at Fairmont Maldives, Sirru Fen Fushi.
The budget was very tight and required the lighting of submerged and semi submerged sculptures within a stainless steel structure. The lighting was designed to not only light the sculptures but also to light the enclosure so that it was visible from the shore at night, as the sun set behind it, and also light the water so that night diving would be possible.
Mushroom Lighting chose 24 of the new Gantom Storm DMX RGBW 4.8 watt IP67 floods for above the water and eight TecLumen Mini Sub Color TKX RGBW 15 watt IP68 Spots with 120-degree beam for beneath the waves. The Gantoms were supplied in a custom aluminium finish to blend in with the stainless steel, and the TecLumens were finished in Stainless Steel.
A total of eight programmes are installed into a Chromateq controller, with a “Lightshow” on the hour. This includes various themes, such as fire and ice, when the waves take on the appearance of flames, and the structure turns ice blue, as well as highlighting various elements of the structure.
The program runs over approximately twelve minutes, and then settles into a static scene, the whole cycle repeating every hour. A time switch built into the control system keeps the cycle repeating.
Numerous challenges were overcome that are not the norm, such as monsoon rain and the entire working area frequently underwater. The underwater element has provided an amazing environment for fish, and the scuba divers are taken on a journey through the Coralarium, experiencing night diving at its finest.
