AN ARTWORK which was part of last year’s Lumiere light festival has made a lasting return to the North-East.

Tobie Langel’s Helvetictoc sees the time projected onto buildings in text using phrases such as ‘It’s just past nine o’clock’.

Durham County Council has bought the piece for Millennium Place, Durham City, with a £10,000 grant from developers The Banks Group, made through its Banks Community Fund.

The work, which will now be projected onto Clayport Library, was unveiled tonight (Wednesday, February 26).

Council leader Simon Henig said: “As a council we remain committed to a rich programme of cultural events which we know deliver much needed economic benefits to businesses and make our county a better place to live, work and visit.”

Lumiere 2013 brought around 175,000 visitors to Durham over four nights last November.