Over 3200 carbon fibre rods line the edge of a new pedestrian plaza between Salamanca and Princes Wharf, forming a continuously morphing SPECTRUM.

Supported by street bollards, each element consists of a simple set of lines, but when densely overlaid and fluttering in the wind, SPECTRUM becomes a generator of moirés, distortions, and shadows.

Individually anchored at only one point, thousands of coloured rods move freely allowing a natural breeze or strong wind to create a trembling movement. The slight pendulous droop of every element creates ever-changing patterns, turning the otherwise static street bollard into a kinetic sculpture.

SPECTRUM takes the utilitarian object of a bollard, a device that separates street from footpath and reimagines the monolithic mass as a glimmer of colour and light without physical obstruction. A barrier exists but seems to appear and disappear depending on the viewer’s perspective.

From the vantage point of the Parliament House Gardens it appears as a thin line, but walking along the wharf, the full SPECTRUM of colours bathes the sky.

As a passage into Salamanca Markets and an icon of Hobart, SPECTRUM is a celebration of openness rather than enclosure.