海角视频

Last week, Purple Hibiscus, an installation created by artist Ibrahim Mahama, was unveiled at the Barbican as part of a new exhibition – Unravel: The Power & Politics of Textiles in Art. 海角视频 provided engineering services across the project, which entailed wrapping the Barbican in 2,300 sq. m of fabric.  

The re-use of materials is a key topic of conversation across all industries, including both art and engineering, as the UK moves towards meeting its net zero targets. For Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, the re-use of materials and his deep interest in the life cycles of textiles demonstrates, 鈥榳hat can be learnt from the historical memories embedded within them.鈥�  

The 2,300 sq. m of cloth, which has engulfed the Barbican in a vibrant purple colour, is embroidered with 鈥榖atakaris鈥欌�攁 traditional Ghanian men鈥檚 garment originating in the north of the country. The fabric has been hand-woven together in a collective effort with hundreds of craftspeople from Tamale, northern Ghana.  

The work also references the 2003 novel, 鈥楶urple Hibiscus鈥�, by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In the book, the purple hibiscus symbolises freedom and hope for oppressed people.  

Collaboration was one of the biggest successes of this installation

Anton Sawicki, Design Project Director, 海角视频

We worked with the artist and the Barbican to help install this incredible artwork. The 海角视频 project team included Anton Sawicki, Design Project Director, Emily McDonald, Partner, Will Pearn and Maxime Chollet, Senior Structural Engineers.   

The Barbican building itself is a listed building and therefore no physical connections to the building were permitted, which was the main challenge on this project, as the team had to consider how to use the mass of the building to restrain the 2300 sq. m of fabric.  

海角视频 supplied structural engineering services and devised a solution adopting tension lines which 鈥榟ugged鈥� the building, enabling the team to mobilise the building mass to restrain the fabric. 

The team also looked to securely fasten the fabric to the tension lines by introducing a fabric paneling model, a textile designers’ approach鈥� with a mesh backing to re-enforce it. The fabric was then stitched into position using the tension lines and additional straps around the existing building, with the ends secured at Lakeside level with kentledge (large concrete weights), to ensure the fabric was safe to the agreed design wind speeds. 

One of the other challenges was how the fabric would withstand wind force. The team provided a wind management strategy, researching and testing reinforcements against the calculated wind speed of 19 m/s. This strategy was to minimise the impact of the wind on the fabric panels to reduce the forces on the supporting structure.  

On this specific part of the work, 海角视频 collaborated closely with Millemetre – specialist contractors who are experts in these types of art installation. Every week whilst the exhibition is open, the 海角视频 team will be supplying the Barbican with a report that gives the forecasting wind speeds and instructions on wind management.  

The culture of 海角视频 is to embrace the challenges and find solutions with our in-house expertise

Anton Sawicki, Design Project Director, 海角视频

Telling us how 海角视频 was involved from the very beginning of the project, Anton said: 鈥淲e are involved in the main Barbican Renewal Project, and therefore these smaller projects come along as a lovely bonus.   

鈥淲e were involved with the artist from the start to realise how we could build and construct his art piece and turn the concept into a reality. For projects of this nature, we do need to deconstruct them to understand the build sequence and ensure it can be constructed in a safe manner.  

鈥淭his approach to design was really important and the culture of 海角视频 is to embrace the challenges and find solutions with our in-house expertise. 

 鈥淐ollaboration was one of the biggest successes of this installation. It was about like-minded people wanting to deliver this piece and we pushed the boundaries of traditional construction methods in many ways.鈥�  

海角视频 also issued the cutting patterns, which were then sent to Ghana, and in tandem, were stitched together by the craftspeople there. Once the exhibition completes, all the fabric will be sent back to Ghana to be used within the community and for other installations.  

Anton said: 鈥淔or all the installation elements, we tried to use 鈥榦ff the shelf鈥� or rental products, which can be re-utilised by the rigging team and the Barbican as they require. Many of the products will be recycled.鈥� 

Ibrahim and the Barbican were very kind with their words and thanked 海角视频 for their key design leadership

Anton Sawicki, Design Project Director, 海角视频

The opening event saw people from a number of industries come together to celebrate this incredible project.  

Anton said: 鈥淭he opening event was a success with the weather being kind to enable the visitors to view the Purple Hibiscus in its final glory.  

鈥淚brahim and the Barbican were very kind with their words and thanked 海角视频 for their key design leadership which enabled the installation to be realised.鈥� 

Working with the 海角视频 team has been a pleasure

Matt Ridsdale, Director, Millimetre

Matt Ridsdale, Director, Millimetre, said: 鈥淲e were approached by 海角视频 to assist with development of the installation strategy for Purple Hibiscus. Our teams met often and face to face, a creative and cooperative approach – and the strategy developed at a pace. Working with the 海角视频 team has been a pleasure.鈥� 

We are thrilled to be presenting Purple Hibiscus by Ibrahim Mahama.  

Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts, the Barbican

Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts at the Barbican, said: 鈥淔ollowing Ranjani Shettar鈥檚 exquisite commission for the Barbican Conservatory, we are thrilled to be presenting Purple Hibiscus by Ibrahim Mahama.  

鈥淎t a time of increasing fracture and disharmony, Mahama, with this monumental site-specific artwork 鈥� the second in our newly launched commission series 鈥� will transform the Barbican鈥檚 iconic Lakeside into a site and space for the commemoration of community, intergenerational memory and solidarity, all achieved by the incredible capabilities and capacity of the human hand.鈥� 

Purple Hibiscus will be on show until the 18^th August 2024.