LIGHTS OUT! Iconic Derry artwork plunged into darkness due to 'technical issues'

ONE of the city’s most iconic sights has been plunged into darkness.

The ‘Stitch In Time’ light installation was gifted to the city following the City of Culture celebrations.

The public artwork, created by Time Etchells, originally formed part of the Lumiere project in 2013 and was commissioned to commemorate the legacy of Derry’s shirt factories.

The £50,000 project is made up a 22-metre long and two-metre high artwork of steel letters adorned with hundreds of LED bulbs, and was placed at the top of the Rosemount Factory building on Park Avenue where it can be seen throughout the city.

The Department for Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) provided the capital funding for the artwork, after which Derry City Council took on ownership and responsibility for the project, which currently has planning permission up to December 31, 2017.

However, the sign has not been lit up for the past number of days.

A similar problem affected the sign in December 2016 which resulted in parts of it not working.

In statement issued to the Derry News, a spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said that efforts were ongoing to repair the artwork.

“The installation is currently not operational due to technical issues and that arrangements are being made to get the issues resolved,” the spokesperson said.