5,000 glass spheres in Bath Cities, towns and tourist attraction usually recruit a celebrity to switch on their Christmas lights.But when The Holburne Museum in Bath had a bright idea for this year\'s festive decorations , they recruited an artists instead.
The stunning Field of Lights is the work of acclaimed lighting expert Bruce Munro and it will be seen by the public for the first time when the switch is thrown on Saturday.
The free exhibition is a beautiful maze of more than 5,000 bulbs planted in the museum grounds, on acrylic stems are topped by frosted spheres which are threaded with fibre optic cables and lit by a colour projector.
The seed for Bruce Munro\'s inspiration to create this artwork was planted nearly 20 years ago while travelling in Australia.
He became transfixed by the way in which the barren dessert would burst into bloom after rainfall. For that reason, his Field of Light lies dormant during the hours of day light, but when darkness falls the bulbs flower in transfixing patterns of light and colour.
\'I hope the Holburne’s visitors and Christmas shoppers in Bath will enjoy Field of Light,\' said Munro.
\'I think it is a piece with universal appeal and I’ll be happy if it makes people smile at Christmas time.\'
Alexander Sturgis, Director of the Holburne, said, \'At what, for most people, is a frantic time of festive preparation we are pleased to be able to offer a tranquil and uplifting experience at the Holburne.\'
It is not the first time Munro has indulged his dream of a field of lights. he first created a similar exihibition at the V&A Museum in London in 2004, but has also made other versions including a 10-acre display at Long Knoll Field in Wiltshire and at the Eden Project in Cornwall in 2008/2009.