Nina Sellars
Developed in consultation with both a quantum physicist and a mechanical engineer, Nina Sellars’s Lumen explores the visual implications of medical imaging systems as they begin to “map the anatomical body” (GV). This work is composed of a fibre optic set-up focused on the interior of a nearby glass vessel. The result is a ghost-like image showing larger light formations mediated by the rotating glass and projected onto an opposing wall. What at first appears to be empty space is revealed as an eerie composite of light-shapes.
Defined as “a kinetic installation that presents real time scans of a fictional interior,” Lumen is able to visualize what is otherwise invisible. Although visually organic, Lumen is principally technological, and so very nicely marries aesthetic engagement with the science of microscopy. Very cool to see artists working so closely with scientists from such disparate fields.
For what is perhaps a more thorough explanation of the scientific principles at work in Sellars’s work, you can visit her website here. And, for more information about Sellars and her showing at GV’s Art and Science exhibition in London, click here.
And for those of us especially interested in fibre optics, check out this book.
