Alex Chinneck Unveils ‘A Bullet from a Shooting Star’

Recently British artist Alex Chinneck and London Design Festival unveiled A bullet from a shooting star, a Festival Landmark Project and outdoor installation at Greenwich Peninsula, taking the unconventional form of an inverted electricity pylon. The 35-metre high structure has been designed to be seen from a distance and can be viewed from North Greenwich Station, the Emirates Airline cable car, the Thames Clipper service, Canary Wharf and all planes that fly to and from City Airport.

Illuminated at night, the work acts as a literal beacon and will project a maze of latticed shadows. A bullet from a shooting star contains a combined length of 1186m of steel weighing 15 tons. There are 450 pieces of steel with over 1,000 engineered connection points. The foundations include 25m deep piles within 120 tonnes of concrete. Referencing the industrial history of the site which once included the largest oil and gas works in Europe and a steelworks, Alex Chinneck has created a lattice of steel, that resembles an upside down pylon, leaning at a precarious angle as though shot into the earth.

The construction and materials reflect the same visual and material language of multiple structures across the Peninsula, particularly the redundant gas tower located on site while also evoking the idea of power generation and supply. To complement the external installation, NOW Gallery will house Straight jacket star jumps, a 21-metre-long curled up pylon opening 19th September. The work creates a physical and material tension between the object and the glass space in which it stands. Like a ship in a glass bottle, the wound-up pylon defies logic to fit within the 7-metre-high space, coiling under apparent tension to fit within the room.

Both installations defy logic through structural deception by presenting the same object in a very different way: A bullet from a shooting star is outstretched and confident whereas Straight jacket star jumps is reserved, recoiled and contained. Chinneck’s indoor and outdoor works have been conceived to share a dialogue that links the East and the West of the Peninsula. Physically separated yet sculpturally connected they will encourage visitors to explore both areas of the expansive and extraordinary district and unravel its rich history.

Jemima Burrill, curator of NOW Gallery, said, ‘Alex Chinneck has shattered all our expectations. We knew what the two sculptures would look like, but the effect they have had on the landscape of the Peninsula and the gallery has surprised us all; the gallery now houses a very creature-like pylon. They are designed for their settings, but they have changed the way we look at the view towards Canary Wharf from Greenwich Peninsula.’

Imogen McGill

Alex Chinneck’s studio has also released a limited edition screen print to accompany A bullet from a shooting star. The edition of 100 will be available from here from 19th September 2015.