A giant piece of artwork is set to dominate the skyline in Belfast when it is completed in the summer.
The RISE sculpture will be the biggest piece of artwork ever commissioned in Northern Ireland and will tower 37.5 metres – or 123 feet – above the city’s Broadway roundabout.
The sculpture, by the Nottingham artist Wolfgang Buttress, is made up of two globes, one inside the other, cast in silver and white steel. The piece is designed to symbolize the rising of the sun and new hope for Belfast’s future. It will appear to rest on a bed of reeds, which is a tribute to the nearby Bog Meadows. Lights on the end of the reeds will reflect on the globes.
The artwork has been made up of more than 65,000 parts and manufactured at the M Hasson and Sons Ltd steelworks in Rasharkin.
Belfast City Council estimates the sculpture will be seen by the 65,000 people who use the M1 and Westlink daily, as well as from the air by more than 2.5 million passengers travelling in and out of George Best City Airport every year.
The council says the aim of the project is to help revitalise Belfast, bringing a new focus to the area and projecting a vibrant, confident image of the city.
The council says the cost of the artwork is £486,000, with £330,000 coming from Department for Social Development, £100,000 from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and £56,000 from the council. It says the project is helping to sustain 140 jobs.