“Others’ light
chokes the spell of fathomless darkness,
but I,
with my light, l
end greater might to the world’s awe –
and as with the white rays, the moon
lessens not, but tremblingly
deepens night’s ministry”
Lucian Blaga
(Briefly, rational knowledge is like a light that kills the mysteries of the world, Poetic knowledge enhances, by protecting them.)
Translated from Blaga’s poem in Romanian
Light.
It is an essential element across the research being conducted at the Dunn School of Pathology. The balance and manipulation of light in cell research caught our interest. It makes the details visible and can improve the resolution of an image, but too much light damages the cells.
A continuous balancing act.
‘Details of Light’ was a collaborative work with artist Mihaela Man for an installation in the Dunn School of Pathology for the permanent collection, which brought together languages from printmaking, set design, light, art and science in its final outcome.
Part of this project displays a fictional cross section, an archaeological dig into layers of information drawn out of an image through a creative interpretation of Phase Contrast Imaging. This takes the form of an installation of seven prints.
The outcropping slabs of glass in the window also acted like the glass slides under a microscope. Overlaid with the translucent design its intention is to achieve a minimal yet striking intervention working with movement and light. The imagery, an interplay between abstract and depictive – references the images being produced in current research at the Dunn School. It is an idea that is light and flexible, a few shades darker from the current blue tint of the glass. A contemporary iteration of stained glass windows the quiet gesture hopes to draw your mind outside, to drift and observe as light plays on the work, a statement bringing the space to life and creating mental space for creative and scientific thought.
Through contrast, the image is created, broken down and reconfigured. This contrast is moderated by the amount of light that comes in through the windows at different times of the day. The light will be affecting each of the layers of print, ever-transforming the installation, making it a constant image generator. Our installation is meant to underline the contingency of the microscopical image on light. The installation, as well as the cell, is activated by the presence of light.
Press - The Oxford Scientist Review
