Nocturne is an ever changing colour light-work conceived for the QEII Metro Bridge. It takes its inspiration from the River Tyne and the communities of Newcastle and Gateshead. By linking the tidal movements with the train journeys Nocturne seeks to reflect the connections between the cities and the vein of water that divides them. Because of the way we have programmed the lights every night will be different.

The light effects that Nocturne shows are determined by the colours displayed in digital photographs that have been sent by the public. This means that anyone can change the way the bridge looks and feels by sending a photograph, or a scan of an image, in fact, anything that can be sent as a jpeg will control the appearance of the bridge.

The patterns of colour that Nocturne displays will be controlled by two very different sources: the tidal movement of the Tyne and photographs donated by the public.

The intensity of the white light modelling of the bridge structure, and the speed at which the colour message travels across the bridge, is determined by the rise and fall of the tide the tidal algorithm. When the tide is out, and the water levels within the river are low, the luminosity of the white light is at its most intense. Similarly, the ebb and flow of the tide influences the speed at which the colour messages travel, as the tide rises the messages gradually move more slowly across the bridge and as it rises their speed gradually increases.

"The core of the idea is that light, colour and movement can play out over the decades and create an artwork that has different modes of behaviour and personality. It is not a simple visual idea, rather, Nocturne exploits circumstances to develop an identity."