Public Art: Zipgates

• Title of artwork: 'Zipgates'
• Materials: Powder coated aluminium and fluorescent, solar lights
• Location: Palmeira Mansions, Palmeira Avenue, Hove
• Artist: Stig Evans
• Date: 2006
• Online map: Zipgates Google map
• Information and map download: Zipgates [PDF 397kb]

The 'Zipgates' are made from powder coated aluminium and make up the entrance gates to Palmeira Mansions. They were a collaboration between Brighton based artist Stig Evans and Alan Philips Architects and were commissioned as part of the apartment's development. The vertical aluminium bands are coloured in pastel shades which compliment the minimal architecture of the modern building. Solar powered lights come on at night and the vehicle gates illuminate on opening.

Stig Evans explains "The gates could be described as 'readymades' or 'objet trouvé¹, as they are based on a bar code from a packet of cigarettes found in front of the building.  The gates represent on a grand scale our relationship with urban architecture and urban contemporary living".

¹. Objet trouvé (Fr: 'found object'). An object found by an artist and displayed with no, or minimal, alteration as (or as an element in) a work of art.
Ian Chivers "objet trouvé." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Aug. 2009.

For more information on Stig Evans go to www.stigevans.com.

See the next artwork: Aldi Sculptural Gates