National Portrait Gallery Australia video of development of this plasma neon installation
Video produced by National Portrait Gallery to support a presentation for the Glass Arts Society Conference
blown glass plasma heart detail Photo NPG Mark Mohell 2021
https://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibitions/harriet-schwarzrock-2021
NPG installation of part of spaces between stillness and movement. Photo NPG M Mohell
Installation at National Portrait Gallery in 2021, so grateful, what a team and thanks to Matthew Curtis
spaces between movement and stillness
Harriet Schwarzrock 2021
The heart is often regarded as our emotional centre. Working with this form allows me to contemplate many aspects of being. From the subtle yet essential electricity with our bodies, to our extraordinary similarities and differences. These forms are similar, yet they manifest different qualities of pulsing energy and light.
Intrigued by the mesmerising qualities of neon and plasma, the processes used to create this type of illumination are based upon early developments in modern lighting. As a glassblower I have been able to experiment with making sculptural glass forms to fill with this interactive light. These forms have inert gases sealed inside. Many have a mix of gases, including neon, argon, xenon & krypton. Depending on the ratio and pressures, differing qualities of light are expressed. Sometimes they have a warm glow much like an aurora contained in a bottle, in others there are lighting like lines meandering around the form.
Although the gases are invisible, when excited by electricity they reveal subtle effects and differences. I am fascinated by this interplay between the invisible and the visible, between similarity and difference. Wonderfully this type of illumination can respond to our proximity exploring interconnection and how we affect one another.
Harriet Schwarzrock 2021
The heart is often regarded as our emotional centre. Working with this form allows me to contemplate many aspects of being. From the subtle yet essential electricity with our bodies, to our extraordinary similarities and differences. These forms are similar, yet they manifest different qualities of pulsing energy and light.
Intrigued by the mesmerising qualities of neon and plasma, the processes used to create this type of illumination are based upon early developments in modern lighting. As a glassblower I have been able to experiment with making sculptural glass forms to fill with this interactive light. These forms have inert gases sealed inside. Many have a mix of gases, including neon, argon, xenon & krypton. Depending on the ratio and pressures, differing qualities of light are expressed. Sometimes they have a warm glow much like an aurora contained in a bottle, in others there are lighting like lines meandering around the form.
Although the gases are invisible, when excited by electricity they reveal subtle effects and differences. I am fascinated by this interplay between the invisible and the visible, between similarity and difference. Wonderfully this type of illumination can respond to our proximity exploring interconnection and how we affect one another.