Robots swap welding for casting light on culture city

Against a backdrop of the night sky and the city’s architecture, the arms move in a sinuos dance, rising, swooping and reaching out.

For Where Do We Go From Here?, the last major commission to round off Hull’s City of Culture year, the 21 arms have been fitted with light sources, mirrors and prisms and directional speakers, which can target sound with the precision of a stage spotlight.

There are six “gatekeepers” at Beverley Gate drawing visitors in with their lights, nine at Trinity Square and five outside the Streetlife Museum. The 21st is tucked away at Wilberforce House.

Chief executive of Hull 2017 Martin Green said: “Each has its own atmosphere, sometimes playful, sometimes ethereal, sometimes contemplative.

“As we approach the end of this incredible year, it takes us into 2018 and as we look ahead into the future asks a key question for our times, one we hope will get people thinking.”

It runs daily from 5pm to 9pm until January 7.