Utah Bit and Mine consists of two interactive illuminated sculptures located on the platform of the Bingham Junction Light Rail Station in Midvale, Utah. The sculptures celebrate the identity, history, and values of the Midvale community; home to one of the largest copper mines in the world. The two spheres are composed of frosted acrylic and is perched on three steel legs. Each sphere has a unique facade; one sphere alludes to a mining bit while the other looks like a copper mine, representing the object and void of the process. These two sculptures face across the platform and influence each other electronically, echoing the symbiotic relationship between the land and the people who make their living from it.

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During the day, the acrylic skin of both sculptures glows softly with daylight. At night, they are lit from within with colorful LED lighting. Each sculpture has a stainless steel bolt that allows visitors to alter the colors of the LED lighting inside the sculptures. When the button on either sphere is touched, visitors are able to control the colors of all eight sections on each sculpture. During periods where visitors aren’t interacting with the sculpture, the two pieces will “communicate” with each other by slowly fading their colors to correspond to each other, segment by segment.

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Date:

2011

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Location:

Bingham Junction Light Rail Station, Midvale, UT

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Dimensions:

5' diameter - 2 total

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Media:

steel, acrylic, LED lighting, electronics, touch sensor

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Commissioning Agency: 

Utah Transit Authority

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Artist:

Joe O'Connell

Blessing Hancock

Nina Borgia-Aberle