A work of art that will light-up the North-East's premier music venue has been unveiled.

The Star Ceiling has been installed in the lift area of the car park block, behind The Sage Gateshead.

Representing the night sky, it livens up the plain space for visitors waiting for a lift.

Suspended from a false ceiling, the piece is made up of 116 fibre optics of different lengths.

Hung in a grid format, the optics are pre-programmed to change colour, resulting in a flow of sparkling light which represents the night sky.

At the middle is a 600mm toughened glass lens, which acts as a focal point and allows visitors in the car park block entrance to view the piece from above.

Commissioned by Gateshead Council and funded by One NorthEast through the Single Regeneration Budget, Star Ceiling was designed by international artist Jo Fairfax.

He said: "I wanted to create something that had a sense of beauty for people to enjoy before and after experiencing the magnificent Sage Gateshead.

"The lift void space is potentially quite a soul-less space. I wanted to counter this by creating a sense of the beauty of a night sky for people when they looked up."

Published: 15/01/2005