Rainbow with Kärcher
Thanks to the high-pressure cleaners from Kärcher, an artificial rainbow can now be admired every morning and evening along the River Enz in Pforzheim.
A spectacle of nature and at the same time the subject of numerous legends and works of art: the phenomenon of the rainbow, which appears to occur by chance when the sun shines and it rains at the same time, is known and familiar to everyone. Thanks to high-pressure cleaners from Kärcher, an artificial rainbow can be admired every morning and evening on the River Enz in Pforzheim. The installation is part of the ORNAMENTA 2024 art festival, which takes place in Pforzheim and the surrounding area, and is based on an idea by artists Brynjar Sigurðarson and Veronika Sedlmair.
To create the rainbow, three cold water high-pressure cleaners from Kärcher with specially designed nozzles are used. Every morning and evening for one hour at 5-minute intervals, the nozzles generate a spray mist from the mouth of a four-meter-high Icelandic elf figure made of bronze called “Haug”, which spreads over the River Enz as it flows through Pforzheim. In combination with the low morning and evening sun, this creates a clearly visible rainbow for passers-by on the two nearby bridges.
Depending on the intensity and angle of incidence of the sun's rays, the light mood and the wind intensity and direction, the rainbow always turns out differently. Thanks to a light sensor and switching technology specially developed by Kärcher's equipment engineering department, the high-pressure cleaners are only activated when the sun is shining, so that no water or electricity is used unnecessarily. To compensate for the fresh water used, a reforestation project is being supported in the Stuttgart region, in which deciduous forests that are beneficial to the groundwater are being planted. Numerous local companies have become involved in the project, from a bronze foundry and a project management company to the local savings bank and the Pforzheim public utility company. The installation is designed to be permanent and will remain active in the summer months for the next five years after Ornamenta.
