SYDNEY.- A glowing golden forest of trees illuminates an ugly site beneath the Western Distributor at Ultimo, transforming the dark and un-imaginative space and improving public safety.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore switched the lights on Sydney's newest permanent artwork Aspire on May 19 and publicly launched the public art project with the community.

"Aspire By Warren Langley is an eye-catching display designed to enliven the unattractive area below the freeway into a luminous outdoor gallery," said Ms Moore.

"This new low-maintenance artwork will strengthen the pedestrian link between the communities of Pyrmont and Ultimo, providing a brighter, more engaging and safer public space."

The artwork has been a collaborative community art project 10 years in the making, with the first local workshops in 2000. Members of the community were directly involved in developing the brief and selecting prominent public artists who had prepared concepts and tendered for the project.

The six final designs were placed on public exhibition in Ultimo for three months, with Aspire chosen by a selection panel, including members of the City's Public Art Advisory Panel.

Sydney artist Warren Langley has achieved international recognition for his light and landscape installations worldwide. He created Aspire to match the scale of the site and be visible by both pedestrians and traffic, with economic and ecological sustainability considered in the selection of materials and light sources.

A project idea under the City of Sydney's Sustainable Sydney 2030 project is to bury the Western Distributor to better connect the City centre with its harbour and create more parkland at Darling Harbour.