The Victoria and Albert Museum’s shimmering Christmas tree this year is pop-artist Anna Lomax’s All Lit Up!, a dazzling 5m high site-specific installation crafted from precision-engineered stainless steel tubing.
This ambitious project combines innovative manufacturing techniques with creative artistry, resulting in a stunning centrepiece that reimagines the festive season in the V&A’s Cromwell Road entrance, blending the timeless silhouette of an evergreen conifer and the strength of the columns in the Museum’s historic Dome with meticulous cutting edge technology and ethereal play of light and shadow.
The industrial skill and exceptional expertise of Cooney Marine International of Kettering was harnessed to create multidisciplinary artist and designer Anna Lomax’s bold and playful design for her iconic V&A sculpture, transforming steel tubes into one-of-a-kind fusion of manufacturing innovation and seasonal creativity.
The tree’s defining feature – a smooth, decreasing spiral structure – was achieved using a unique three-dimensional tube bending machine available only in the UK at Cooney Marine. This advanced equipment, renowned for its ability to create freeform shapes for world-class marine applications such as precision mirror-polished handrails to luxury super-yacht quality and architectural projects, was essential in delivering the unconventional and seamless texture and design of All Lit Up! Cooney Marine Specialise in CNC tube bending and fabrication using conventional and unconventional methods with the Nissin freeform bending machines.
James Cooney, MD of Cooney Marine International Ltd, said “We were really pleased when we were contacted to be part of the project. We have been involved in several stainless steel sculptures before but never anything like this. The design really showcases what we can do.”
You’ll be able to see Lomax’s All Lit Up! Christmas tree in the foyer of the Museum from November 26 until January 5.
