Light Experiment Series follows developmental stages of incorporating my Glass into Installations including known objects. The concept behind this was to locate items of enhancement to explore light and its distortion on a larger scale.
To begin, the concept finds the glass sculptures as pivotal pieces in the perspective of light. Instead of being the focal point, making the glass into a body of work which informs my research into nature whilst taking inspiration from artists such as Raquel Kogan and the way light is refracted off a reflective surface.
Iteration 1: establishing the abilities of independant materials
I find the manual movement of light to be difficult to relay in an exhibition, without bodies, how would this piece enact movement in order for light to accomplish constant distortion?
There has to be an independant variable where the light creates refractions which change without human intervention, or atleast minimsl intervention.
To combat this , I want to add movement through a fan or motor device to create animation to the light.
Learning from my first experiment, I added a fan to provide movement to the foil. Instead of using the glass as a main source of distortion, the foil becomes active in the illusions in the space, whilst revealing the glass as an item of interest. The movement of the foil from the fan randomly exposes and covers the glass, providing curiosity for its existence and purpose. When exposed, the light dances off the glass .
Whilst this was attempted on a raised plint, informing the glass being lowered for ease of view and concealment, I would like to acively explore the elevation of both the fan and glass, to expore how this effects the intervention of light and the illusions created.
I hope this would provide more meaning to the idea to distort light.
From documenting this piece, i find the sounds and light mimic that of a nautical landscape, the light similar to that on the surface of a bed of water and mirrored int he shadows of the glass artrfactss below. I would like this to be enhanced in a push to disconnect the viewer from the outside world and to show their thinking my alllowing them to focus on a certain magic in the obvious and everyday.
Iteration 2:The birth of ‘Cyclical Eclipse’
This piece experiments with suspending glass and the benefit it has when installing.
This was derived from feedback from my mid module review , where interaction with movement and the glass provided focus. Whilst this piece holds impact and I enjoy the refractions of light and how it circulates the space, especially in a corner, the structural security of the piece is a concern. During installation, the handle of this piece broke from the dish, I believe this is due to the weight of the plate being too heavy for the size and fixing of the handle.
This piece holds simplicity but also impact from the depth of light. It is something i want to install professionally and that i think holds significance to my previous developments and ideas.
The sketch above indicates my thought process and how I derived my setup.
Following on from this Install, I experimented with duration using a failed attempt to understand how the handle may withstand weight and if how i would need to attach my handle to future pieces in order for it to withstand weeks of install without failing.
The work resembled the light which I captured refracting in my image archive. This proved the way which it reminded me of the small glimpses of light refracting.
The work also reminded me of the water / sound based work Of Alessandro Periniand how she used the maniuplation of fluids to create light , constantly changing and unpredictable due to vibrations of sound.
Iteration 3: Combining Stair Grips (Trellis)
I explored how using a fan to create movement would impact the light on the sculpture and enhance it.
The foil was close to the sculpture and I feel this decision wasnt the right one. I would like to see how trellis is impacted when the foil is used as a reflector onto the work below or above. It would be easier to create movement from above with the spotlight shining on the foil.
The sketch Displays how i thought fixating the foil by a point would cause its uncontrollability to be sustained under a popint and allow for more gradual, graceful movements and how light might be displayed around it.
Re Install of Iteration 2
I reinstalled my second iteration of my light experiment series. This was to establish certain aspects of the work in conversation with my tutor about refining this piece.
The piece itself, similarly to iteration to include included a singular glass disc suspended with a transparent fishing line at height; a spotlight which then Sean onto the desk refracting the light through the glass and displaying this array of colour.
One of the observations I made about this piece is how the spotlight was not fully used in the refraction of the light due to the plate having an incredibly slow movement. This meant at the point where the light was covered by the plate an eclipse effect occur occurred meaning the light refracted was greater than that of the spotlight size causing a somewhat ‘complete’ piece.
I had refined the spotlight size matching it up to the plate size so that it could complete the spotlight and produce this eclipse effect.
I had expressed my feelings towards wanting to move away from fishing line to make the glass piece an object of the installation, however I became enlightened by the way that this would completely change the perception of this piece from its simplicity and fragility providing more rigidity which is something that I would like to avoid.
The overall concept behind this piece was to capture the fragility of a phenomenon, the fleeting moments you can’t hold. My main inspiration from this was the way that light refracted in the sunlight onto mundane and spaces. These bursts of colour provide a small pocket of joy and a unique miracle in it’s existence.
Second Re-Installation of Iteration 2
During my penultimate week before Easter, I reinstalled two specific pieces to refine the position and installation of them ahead of the degree show.
After a week of failures in the glass workshop, trying to produce a larger and more refined circular shape to install.
I focused on the height and position of the glass disc in the space. The spotlight stood around 1 m of the ground however the refraction stood at around 1.5 m tall on the wall.
In this installation, the diameter of the spotlight projection was much larger than any other that I was able to produce in previous installations. This meant that the refractions of light around the room were larger and more intense. I put this down to the size of the plate being slightly larger and the position of the spotlight which, whilst still holding the full shape of the disc, was further away from the glass than previous tests.
With regards to installing it for the degree show I had to take into account the space that I would be installing in. And all of my previous installations it was vital for the peace to have specific dimensions between the spotlight, the disc and the wall. I was able to measure these during this installation test.
Here I have measured the distance between the door of B1.24 and a pillar which a wall will be built across to hide the radiator.
This wall will become a barrier, separating the radiator from the installation piece. The decision to install this piece in its own individual space was due to its interaction with other artworks. This is due to the nature of the work refracting around the space.
The distance between the wall and the Spotlight in my installation test in B1.28 was 3.1 m, the distance between the glass and the Spotlight .9 m. This was specific to this piece of glass as the different size of the glass would vary the distance required between the spotlight and the glass in order for it to refract fully within the spotlight circle.
The length of B1.24 was approximately 3.3 m, meaning if I was to install in this space, the Work would be feasible with .2 m to spare, this word compensate the lens of the spotlight when it is applied on its bracket.
Artwork Description: Hand blown Glass artefacts, Foil, Fan, Spotlight
March - April 2025