'Global Rainbow'
Global Rainbow is a large scale, spectacular outdoor laser projection that consists of seven parallel beams of high specification laser light, representing the spectrum of the traditional seven colours of the rainbow. With the projection, the artist intends to symbolise hope, and encompass geographical and social diversity in its reach. Starting on leap day, 29 February, the UK premiere of this astonishing artwork will traverse the night sky over five evenings against the backdrop of the North Tyneside coastline, extending from St Mary's headland towards the river Tyne. From 8 March, International Women's Day, the rainbow will be projected over the city of Preston for four nights, where it will be visible from much of the surrounding area. Starting on 14 March and ending on St Patrick's Day, 17 March, it will be projected from the base of the landmark site of Scrabo Tower, in Northern Ireland, from where it passes over Newtownards, along the picturesque eastern shore of Strangford Lough and on, over the Ards Peninsula. Global Rainbow was initially created for projection in New York City on 19 January 2009 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) where it was projected from the top of a Wall Street skyscraper in downtown Manhattan. The beams extended from Brooklyn Bridge to the east and the Hudson River to the west, passing over Ground Zero. Subsequently, it has been shown in Berlin, Toulouse, Utrecht and Nantes. Yvette Mattern is a New York and Berlin based visual artist whose work has an emphasis on video and film, which frequently intersects performance, public art and sculpture. Her work has been exhibited in Berlin, Vienna, Dakar, New York, Venice, Rome, Chicago and Amsterdam.yvettemattern.com Global Rainbow is produced in the UK by amino, Newcastle upon Tyne.amino.org.uk
