Newly laid pavers have been dug up in the recently completed Stage Four of Victor Harbor’s Mainstreet Precinct Upgrade to enable installation of a new public art piece.

The south end of Ocean Street was once again closed to traffic for most of Wednesday 23 November while the sculpture ‘Phosphorescence’ was installed at the intersection of Ocean Street and Albert Place.

Artist Marijana Tadic created the large sculpture from coloured plexiglass and stainless steel.

It  incorporates computerised lighting, which makes it as visible at night as during the day.

The shapes and colours that appear on the artwork are said to be inspired by sea creatures that glow, such as jellyfish.

It provides a bookend to the sculpture 'Elemental', by artist Karl Meyer, placed at the north end of Ocean Street in Stage Two of the upgrade. 

The title of the artwork, Phosphorescence, is inspired by a book written by ABC journalist Julia Baird. 

In it she writes about the need to find an inner light that sustains when the world is challenging and call for people to look to nature to seek the awe and wonder that fuels a light within.

The artwork had a budget of $100,000, with 50 per cent funding through the state government’s Local Government Infrastructure Partnership Program.

There were 12 responses to an expression of interest and four artists were invited to submit concept plans.

Phosphorescence was recommended by an assessment panel made up of councillors, representatives from the council’s Arts and Culture Advisory

Group and Heritage Advisory Group, the firm responsible for the design of the new streetscape and council staff.

Full details of the public art work can be found on the City of Victor Harbor website.