Es Devlin’s artistic direction and creative vision for the UAE National Day ‘The Seeds of the Union’ show and legacy art installation is a giant kinetic sculpture that ‘floats’ above the mangroves on Jubail Island in Abu Dhabi. Stage One was commissioned by LarMac Projects to create this work as part of the UAE’s 49th National Day celebrations. In collaboration with Piers Shepperd of Wonder Works we designed and delivered a 15m tall rotating cube that provided a projection surface for a visually arresting story of the rich heritage and future of the United Arab Emirates.

Weighing in at over 100 tonnes, the cube was erected on a concrete base in a reclaimed area of the sea. The cube sat atop a revolve powered by six motors and was controlled by our Qmotion automation system. Encoders allowed a signal to be passed to PRG’s projection team allowing razor-sharp and accurate mapping of content across the rotating surface. Perhaps most impressive of all, the tide was then let into the reclaimed area beneath the cube making for a perfectly poetic reflection of the kinetic artwork throughout the after-dark performance.