Luke Jerram - Revealing the Invisible at The National Centre for Craft & Design

Dec. 7, 2012 - PRLog -- Luke Jerram: Revealing the Invisible

2 February - 14 April 2013

Luke Jerram is an internationally respected multidisciplinary artist whose work with discreet objects, large scale public performances and installations has brought him international acclaim.

With an interest in science, engineering and design many of his works relate to these subjects.  Building teams of people to create his art, Jerram collaborates with specialist craftsmen to create his works which often explore new ways to represent and reveal invisible phenomena and are all connected by the material they are predominantly made from – glass.

This exhibition includes works from three major series: Radiometer Chandeliers, Glass Microbiology and Rotated Data Sculptures. By capturing phenomena beyond the reach of the human eye and making them material, Jerram draws our attention to a vast array of scientific research and data gathering and questions, if and how does this knowledge serve us.

His Radiometer Chandeliers reveal the invisible power and beauty of light.  The multi-tiered chandeliers are built of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of solar radiometers which convert the heat of light into movement. Observed from a distance, the sculpture is a form of flickering shimmering delicate moving glass with beautiful shadows being formed as light passes through the artwork.

Glass Microbiology continues Jerram’s exploration of clear glass rendering of viruses and bacteria at the root of the most dangerous diseases such as HIV, H1N1 and SARS. Working with virologists from the University of Bristol, Luke Jerram collaborated with specialised glassblowers to fabricate the pieces.  Made to contemplate the global impact of each disease, the artworks were created as alternative representations to the artificially coloured imagery we receive through the media.  By extracting the colour from the imagery and creating jewel like beautiful sculptures in glass, a complex tension has arisen between the artworks’ beauty and what they represent.

Rotated Data Sculptures are information driven objects which take form by translating statistics (the invisible data) into three-dimensional objects. To produce these visually captivating works, Jerram has chosen data sets with large scale deviations or dramatically fluctuating rhythms such as the Japanese earthquake which caused a Tsunami and tumultuous trading activity on the NY stock exchange, rotating them using computer aided design and then created in glass.

Jerram’s Glass Microbiology sculptures are in museum collections around the world from The Corning Museum in New York to the Wellcome Collection in London.  In 2009 his sculptures were presented at The Mori Museum, Tokyo alongside work by Damien Hirst, Warhol and Leonardo da Vinci.

In 2007 he was awarded the Institute for Medical Imaging Award’ and in 2010 the coveted “Rakow Glass Award” for his work.  Jerram has recently completed a fellowship at the Museum of Glass, Washington, USA.