The Artichoke Lights Return to Brighton Museum
As the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Roof Restoration Project nears the end, we are slowly able to regain the space of the old 20th Century Art & Design Gallery.
A main step in the progress was the reassembling of the artichoke lights that feature prominently above the gallery. The lights are from a design by Poul Henningsen, for Louis Poulsen (a Danish lighting manufacturer) and were originally produced in 1958.
The collaborative efforts of the Facilities and Conservation teams were instrumental in cleaning and reassembling the five artichoke lights suspended from the roof. The work was undertaken from the internal scaffold erected in the gallery for use in the roof restoration.
Each artichoke is a complex structure consisting of approximately 72 pieces, each secured to the twelve spines of the artichoke or framework. Each piece fits into a slot on the spine and is secured with a steel wire.
Together, the teams cleaned and reattached a total of 360 pieces to five artichokes, ensuring every piece was returned in the correct place to the correct artichoke.
The cleaning and reattaching was a slow and careful process, which commenced at 7:30am and concluded at 3:15 pm. It was a result of the collective effort of both teams, each contributing their expertise and dedication to ensure the lights are back in place, shining brighter on what will be the new gallery below.
The reassembled artichoke lights in situ and before the scaffold platform is dismantled:
