Omagh Bomb Memorial Design
"Constant Light"
or "Garden of Light" (working title)

PLEASE NOTE- THIS WEB-PAGE IS MOVING TO omaghbombmemorial.com - PLEASE UPDATE ANY LINKS AND BOOKMARKS

Artist Seán Hillen and landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald

This competition called for a design team of artist and landscape architect to produce an integrated approach.

This web-page is intended initially to present the visual art element of the project in order to aid its development.
It will be updated to more fully describe the complete proposal.

Press reports on the competition and the design:

IRISH TIMES article on the Omagh Memorial project by Fintan O'Toole

'CIRCA' Art Journal article on the competition and this entry The original press release announcing the competition

bloggers: pimlicoarts on the design
and apublishersblog writes it "moves memorials onto a new level"



Above: Impressions of the sculpture viewed in the street- click to enlarge

Below: aerial view of the area, showing an early proposal for the lightpath from the garden to the glass pillar.


.

 

Below: an impression of the Memorial Garden and the mirrors.



Above: schematic of the light path at the garden
A: The Sun, whose light is tracked by B: The moving mirror, which directs it constantly via C: an array of small mirrors,
onto D: the 31 small mirrors on poles.
Above: Garden plan.

Below Left: One of the large mirrors.

Below:
The latest structural design of the obelisk
 

Above left: First model of the pillar.Note that this model is for engineering purposes and does not show the heart as it will appear.

 

Below left: How a layer of crystal glass cut with the spiral pattern would fit inside the cavity forming the heart shape.

Above right: Architect Desmond FitzGerald with the model made by McGuire Glass

 

Below right: The spiral pattern to be used as the basis for a crystal glass layer inside the 'heart'.
This pattern has a history of use in ancient art to represent 'the descent of the Divine to the World, and the reverse journey'


"If they ask you where you come from,
tell them you come from the light"
Gospel of St. Thomas

"Love. Yes. Word known to all men."
James Joyce. 'Ulysses'.




The actual site of the explosion will be marked by a pillar, apparently of solid glass, about 4.5m high.
Near the top, inside, appears to float a 3-dimensional 'heart' in a faceted cut-glass style.
The immediate image is that of the 'heart' suspended high in a frozen beam of light.

Because of its position, t
he site is almost constantly in the shade.

In the Memorial Garden, about 300 metres around a corner, large mirrors which are positioned by computer control will track the sun constantly, and when it shines will pour constant beams of sunlight onto 31 pole-mounted small mirrors, one for each fatality.

These mirrors are fixed and directed to bounce the light up the street, around the corner, and via one more mirror mounted high on a nearby gable, down onto the heart inside the obelisk.


It should sparkle and glitter gently with the light.
It will be a beautiful and remarkable sight.

The approach to the artwork was that it could remember and honour the the victims and offer something to the wider community by attempting to simply, uninhibitedly and vividly express the enormity of the loss and the natural feeling, and the outpouring, of compassion for them.

The idea is a gesture towards redeeming human values in the face of the atrocity.


The 'pillar', the form of which has been designed, with other elements, in collaboration with landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald who is responsible for the Memorial Garden element of the project, is influenced both by obelisks and cenotaphs. It will probably be constructed by laminating, i.e. attaching consecutive sheets of glass together.

This 'stack' of glass is then wrapped, in the present design, with two layers of toughened and laminated glass to form a protective outer shell.

In some of the inner layers will be cut holes with polished edges, designed so they build in layers to form the faceted cavity of the heart shape inside. (see illustration)

The 'heart' -the ancient and universal verbal and visual symbol of the 'core' or essential element of things, including the Human Being, of compassion, and of fidelity- will be partially crafted by Tyrone Crystal, but incorporated into the pillar using very modern technology.

In the middle of the faceted heart, which is based on the cutting of diamonds, will be a layer carrying a pattern based on the fibbonaci spiral, as seen in the centre of sunflowers, for instance, in spiral galaxies and elsewhere in nature. This pattern has an ancient history of being used to represent the descent of the Divine to the World and the reverse journey.

On the larger scale, the work also draws attention to our place in and under the cycles of the cosmos and also to the optimistic-but-true reminder that even in the dark we know that the Sun will rise again.

Though apparently complex, the moving-mirror technology is already existing. Sun-tracking mirrors are known as known as 'heliostats', and a suitable off-the-shelf system
will be adapted by a German firm.

Developed from high-end positioners for satellite dishes, they are driven by a small box of electronics programmed to track the sun daily for the next forty years. They operate very quietly for a fraction of a second every 20 seconds to keep in position.
They are very sturdy and reliable and have been in use for years already at many sites.


A layer of coloured glass or dichroic coating may be added to the inside reflecting planes to heighten their beauty.


Since the sunlight is merely reflected by flat mirrors rather than concentrated, there is no risk or health and safety issue.

All of these elements are subject to improvement and engagement with the commissioning body.

LATEST NEWS:

February '08:
A one-fifth scale model of the pillar has been built. (see photos below, left)
Building wo
rk has commenced on the site.


LINKS:

The competition and Design Brief:
short article explaining the design competition

Download the design brief PDF (c. 900k) here

You can download our full stage 1 proposal document as a pdf here.

This powerpoint slideshow available here from Omagh Memorial Working Group, previews all five shortlisted design proposals
.

the exhibition of shortlisted designs.


Further Information: Web-links related to the Omagh Bomb:

A map of the immediate area

Wikipedia article on Omagh Town

Wikipedia article on the Omagh Bomb

The 'official' exhaustive archive of the event

The BBC's page with many links and items, including the playable 'Panorama- "Who bombed Omagh?"'

The BBC's news item on the day

The most prominent independent web-page with many pages and statements from families etc.

The CAIN (academic) archive on the event

 

Partners in the project:

McGrory Contractors- main contractors

Egis GmbH- heliostats

Pilkington Glass Ltd.- glass

Tyrone Crystal Ltd. - crystal glass

McGuire Glass- glass model

White Young Green - engineering & q/s

Thanks for help and advice:

IPIG Ltd. - glass engineers

Canonbury Resins Ltd. - acrylic resin

Resin & Glass Ltd. - acrylic resin

Dr. Peter Gallagher - Astrophysicist,
Trinity College Dublin

Dublin Glass Centre - glass for model