Artwork description: ‘Housemates’ is a poetic encounter between the invisible subaquatic world and the glass, resulting in luminous companions that we grow fond of.
Artwork description long: ‘Housemates’ is a poetic encounter between the invisible subaquatic world and the glass, resulting in luminous companions that we grow fond of. The ‘Housemates’ are modelled on diatoms, the phytoplankton scattered throughout the oceans and rivers. They produce a large proportion of our oxygen, yet ocean acidification threatens their delicate, transparent siliceous shells. Battered and starved of affection since they began digesting fine oil particles, they rise to the surface and nestle into our homes in search of the caress of a hand. Its light flickers slowly, like a living organism struggling to survive. Can we show affection for these invisible creatures that sustain our air ? To create this sculpture, a process of back-and-forth between hot sculpting and 3D modelling enabled the development of a mould to shape the proportions. Using this preform, the curves and antennae were sculpted with precision to capture the fluidity of phytoplankton. Their antennae cling to our spaces, caressing them with light.
Artwork description long: ‘Housemates’ is a poetic encounter between the invisible subaquatic world and the glass, resulting in luminous companions that we grow fond of. The ‘Housemates’ are modelled on diatoms, the phytoplankton scattered throughout the oceans and rivers. They produce a large proportion of our oxygen, yet ocean acidification threatens their delicate, transparent siliceous shells. Battered and starved of affection since they began digesting fine oil particles, they rise to the surface and nestle into our homes in search of the caress of a hand. Its light flickers slowly, like a living organism struggling to survive. Can we show affection for these invisible creatures that sustain our air ? To create this sculpture, a process of back-and-forth between hot sculpting and 3D modelling enabled the development of a mould to shape the proportions. Using this preform, the curves and antennae were sculpted with precision to capture the fluidity of phytoplankton. Their antennae cling to our spaces, caressing them with light.