WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.487 (soft exciting music) 2 00:00:08.350 --> 00:00:11.060 line:15% Welcome to the National Portrait Gallery 3 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:12.260 line:15% and to this installation 4 00:00:13.247 --> 00:00:15.657 "spaces between movement and stillness." 5 00:00:20.610 --> 00:00:23.480 I've been so fortunate to have been working 6 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:28.300 on this project, where this installation was conceived 7 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:32.530 as part of a gateway to the current exhibition 8 00:00:32.530 --> 00:00:34.337 called "Australian Love Stories." 9 00:00:36.550 --> 00:00:38.170 This is the second exhibition 10 00:00:38.170 --> 00:00:40.683 of these heart forms that I've made. 11 00:00:42.190 --> 00:00:44.730 And in this installation, 12 00:00:44.730 --> 00:00:49.730 I've been working on having a number of hearts displayed. 13 00:00:51.160 --> 00:00:54.900 There are over 120 in the space. 14 00:00:54.900 --> 00:00:59.900 And on each wall, there are 60 or approximately 60, 15 00:01:00.740 --> 00:01:03.880 and I was looking at that idea of the resting heart rate 16 00:01:04.740 --> 00:01:09.610 and the sort of idea that we're still, 17 00:01:09.610 --> 00:01:12.610 and that we can also be excited 18 00:01:12.610 --> 00:01:16.580 and that there is this interplay and difference 19 00:01:16.580 --> 00:01:20.213 between all of the forms and all of the expressions. 20 00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:23.210 I've been using the heart form 21 00:01:24.070 --> 00:01:27.230 for its ability to describe 22 00:01:27.230 --> 00:01:30.690 similarity and difference within people. 23 00:01:30.690 --> 00:01:34.770 And I've also been interested in bringing plasma 24 00:01:34.770 --> 00:01:39.550 into the forms for its ability to describe 25 00:01:39.550 --> 00:01:42.570 the idea of electricity within the body. 26 00:01:42.570 --> 00:01:45.370 I've been working with glass for a long time 27 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:48.810 and the developments of light 28 00:01:48.810 --> 00:01:52.123 and glass have developed in step. 29 00:01:53.360 --> 00:01:58.360 We're looking at technologies that are hundreds of years old 30 00:01:58.490 --> 00:02:01.713 with this gas discharge illumination. 31 00:02:06.410 --> 00:02:08.530 Gas discharge illumination 32 00:02:08.530 --> 00:02:10.790 requires a glass envelope 33 00:02:12.220 --> 00:02:15.900 an evacuated form, like we've had a look at already. 34 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:19.050 And then for that to be sealed inside 35 00:02:19.050 --> 00:02:22.060 and the gas to be excited 36 00:02:22.060 --> 00:02:24.150 and to go through an ion cascade 37 00:02:24.150 --> 00:02:29.150 in order to create ionization and illumination. 38 00:02:29.440 --> 00:02:31.710 So for this work, 39 00:02:31.710 --> 00:02:34.940 I haven't just been wanting to look at creating light. 40 00:02:34.940 --> 00:02:38.610 I've been wanting to make pieces that reflect 41 00:02:38.610 --> 00:02:42.290 different kind of experiences that we have, 42 00:02:42.290 --> 00:02:46.550 some racing kind of crackling, excited feelings, 43 00:02:46.550 --> 00:02:50.370 and then some beautiful, just glowing discharges 44 00:02:50.370 --> 00:02:52.710 that I guess are akin to looking 45 00:02:52.710 --> 00:02:55.140 at an aurora within a bottle. 46 00:02:55.140 --> 00:02:59.350 So I'm really thrilled that I could work here 47 00:02:59.350 --> 00:03:01.860 at the Portrait Gallery and create something 48 00:03:01.860 --> 00:03:04.410 that is an encompassing space. 49 00:03:04.410 --> 00:03:08.250 And as you see around the room, there's that sort of idea 50 00:03:08.250 --> 00:03:11.600 of going through a spectrum of color 51 00:03:11.600 --> 00:03:14.040 and being able to see the differences 52 00:03:14.040 --> 00:03:16.243 between all of the different forms. 53 00:03:21.850 --> 00:03:25.180 At this end of the installation are the forms 54 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:30.180 that are predominantly filled just with a low thor of neon 55 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.723 in order to create that sort of softer glow. 56 00:03:38.870 --> 00:03:41.770 In this form, it's probably a good example 57 00:03:41.770 --> 00:03:46.520 of the use of krypton and neon within the form. 58 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:51.520 And also that idea of creating a dusting of phosphor 59 00:03:52.100 --> 00:03:56.453 at the back of the form which kind of softens and creates, 60 00:03:57.640 --> 00:04:00.800 I guess, sparkles of the red phosphor 61 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:02.780 at the back that we can see 62 00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:05.413 through that front face of the glass. 63 00:04:06.410 --> 00:04:10.700 Within the work, there are various different effects 64 00:04:10.700 --> 00:04:14.120 and affects that I'm exploring. 65 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:19.120 And some of it is that sort of very low glow discharge, 66 00:04:20.760 --> 00:04:24.870 where predominantly in the red spectrum of the work, 67 00:04:24.870 --> 00:04:29.870 there are the mostly just filled with very low thor neon 68 00:04:30.420 --> 00:04:33.943 and that creates that beautiful discharge glow. 69 00:04:35.140 --> 00:04:37.080 Whereas the more crackly light 70 00:04:38.932 --> 00:04:42.410 that is probably in that sort of blue green spectrum 71 00:04:42.410 --> 00:04:46.500 is predominantly mixed with the xenon gas 72 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:50.693 creating that really bright sparkly lightning effect. 73 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:54.210 I've enjoyed using xenon more than krypton 74 00:04:55.180 --> 00:04:56.770 to get that effect 75 00:04:56.770 --> 00:05:01.510 because within my practice I don't like to use the halides 76 00:05:01.510 --> 00:05:05.840 or the iodine within the processing. 77 00:05:05.840 --> 00:05:08.120 So I end up using the xenon, 78 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:13.080 which is more a rare and more precious gas. 79 00:05:13.080 --> 00:05:15.530 But I've been very fortunate 80 00:05:15.530 --> 00:05:19.280 that I've been able to achieve some of those effects 81 00:05:19.280 --> 00:05:22.670 just using a small mix of xenon within. 82 00:05:22.670 --> 00:05:27.670 All of the works have a base of neon gas within them. 83 00:05:27.930 --> 00:05:32.330 And I think for me, that's been really lovely, I guess, 84 00:05:32.330 --> 00:05:36.170 because of the modern parlance and association with neon, 85 00:05:36.170 --> 00:05:40.653 but also that idea of that red glow, that energetic red, 86 00:05:41.670 --> 00:05:45.480 because these works are blown from furnace glass 87 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:49.113 and I work in my studio with my partner, Matthew Curtis. 88 00:05:50.590 --> 00:05:52.530 Sometimes we have clear glass from the furnace. 89 00:05:52.530 --> 00:05:56.040 Sometimes we have different tints of color in the furnace. 90 00:05:56.040 --> 00:06:00.370 So there are different hues that I've been able to achieve, 91 00:06:00.370 --> 00:06:03.360 partly through the color of the light, 92 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:06.350 partly through the color of the glass, 93 00:06:06.350 --> 00:06:09.630 partly through adding veneers of color of glass. 94 00:06:09.630 --> 00:06:12.930 And in some of the works I've been applying 95 00:06:12.930 --> 00:06:16.250 just a certain area of one veneer of color 96 00:06:16.250 --> 00:06:20.193 in order to highlight sort of an aspect of the form. 97 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.650 So this means that you sort of perceive different colors, 98 00:06:24.650 --> 00:06:25.930 but because of the difference 99 00:06:25.930 --> 00:06:30.930 between additive and subtractive color making, 100 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:35.280 it's been quite a journey to discover 101 00:06:35.280 --> 00:06:38.320 what sort of colors you end up achieving. 102 00:06:38.320 --> 00:06:40.940 I think that it sort of blew my mind for the first time 103 00:06:40.940 --> 00:06:45.860 I turned one of the pink hearts on and it reads as blue. 104 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:48.580 And that's because the pink light 105 00:06:50.670 --> 00:06:53.930 is absorbed within the form and we then perceive 106 00:06:53.930 --> 00:06:56.143 that sort of bluer spectrum of light. 107 00:06:58.410 --> 00:07:01.720 These colors here, or this sort of blue effect 108 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:05.120 is partly through phosphors in the glass. 109 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:07.550 But particularly with this piece, 110 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:11.230 this is an example of a form that is blown with the veneer 111 00:07:11.230 --> 00:07:16.230 of ruby red glass within a clear mass of the material. 112 00:07:18.590 --> 00:07:20.450 And this is one of those forms 113 00:07:20.450 --> 00:07:25.450 where the filter of the pink glass 114 00:07:26.810 --> 00:07:29.800 makes it so that we see the blue 115 00:07:31.440 --> 00:07:35.195 once the gas is ionized. 116 00:07:35.195 --> 00:07:37.493 Mind-blowing. (laughs) 117 00:07:41.700 --> 00:07:45.050 One of the more recent things I've been experimenting with 118 00:07:45.050 --> 00:07:48.810 and it's been since I was able to do a study 119 00:07:48.810 --> 00:07:51.300 and research tour to the States 120 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:53.520 to visit a lot of my amazing colleagues 121 00:07:53.520 --> 00:07:55.970 from the Plasma Art Alliance 122 00:07:55.970 --> 00:08:00.050 is working with phosphors within the form. 123 00:08:00.050 --> 00:08:01.410 And that's a different way 124 00:08:01.410 --> 00:08:06.410 than of using light to create an effect within the glass, 125 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:10.800 particularly working with Mundy Magical Hepburn 126 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:13.440 and with Wayne Strattman 127 00:08:13.440 --> 00:08:16.490 I've gotten some really fantastic tips 128 00:08:16.490 --> 00:08:21.490 on how to apply the phosphors within the glass. 129 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:27.310 I've been using the Mundy Hepburn beach sand technique 130 00:08:27.310 --> 00:08:31.163 in order to create just a light dusting within the form. 131 00:08:33.160 --> 00:08:35.800 The thing that I've been sort of realizing 132 00:08:35.800 --> 00:08:38.640 that works best for me is to try and apply 133 00:08:38.640 --> 00:08:42.060 the phosphor just to the back of the form 134 00:08:42.060 --> 00:08:44.880 in order that you can see the light, 135 00:08:44.880 --> 00:08:47.340 see the effect of the phosphor 136 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:49.290 but you're not having to look through the phosphor 137 00:08:49.290 --> 00:08:50.780 in order to see it. 138 00:08:50.780 --> 00:08:53.150 So I've been trying to apply gently 139 00:08:53.150 --> 00:08:55.830 before processing a small dusting 140 00:08:55.830 --> 00:08:57.950 of the phosphor at the back 141 00:08:57.950 --> 00:09:01.020 and then tipping the excess phosphor and sand out. 142 00:09:01.020 --> 00:09:06.020 And that creates almost like a galaxy like velvety effect 143 00:09:06.090 --> 00:09:10.940 on the back of the form that is excited by UV light 144 00:09:11.880 --> 00:09:16.090 and then creates a color that we registered. 145 00:09:16.090 --> 00:09:18.900 So the forms that I've used phosphor in, 146 00:09:18.900 --> 00:09:22.880 I have used the small amount of neon gas 147 00:09:22.880 --> 00:09:26.390 and then inserted xenon gas and the xenon gas 148 00:09:26.390 --> 00:09:30.650 gives off more light in the UV spectrum, 149 00:09:30.650 --> 00:09:33.450 so that enables me to then 150 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:36.637 exploit that effect of the phosphors. 151 00:09:42.520 --> 00:09:46.330 I think that one of the really fantastic things 152 00:09:46.330 --> 00:09:49.020 about working on a project at this scale 153 00:09:49.020 --> 00:09:51.780 and having quite a repeatable process, 154 00:09:51.780 --> 00:09:54.210 even though there are a lot of similarities and differences 155 00:09:54.210 --> 00:09:56.360 within the forms is that I've been building 156 00:09:56.360 --> 00:10:00.220 a lot of knowledge, but I also can really appreciate 157 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:01.961 that I've got so much more to learn. 158 00:10:01.961 --> 00:10:05.530 There's so much nuance within the architecture 159 00:10:05.530 --> 00:10:09.840 of the interior of the forms, the mix of the gases. 160 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:11.810 I really have almost no idea 161 00:10:11.810 --> 00:10:14.500 about the electromagnetic side of it. 162 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:16.663 I can't wait to understand that more. 163 00:10:17.990 --> 00:10:20.870 I feel really privileged that I'm working in a space 164 00:10:20.870 --> 00:10:24.160 where I'm excited about being able to blow glass, 165 00:10:24.160 --> 00:10:26.490 being able to learn, use electricity, 166 00:10:26.490 --> 00:10:30.930 and explore those ideas of energy within the body, 167 00:10:30.930 --> 00:10:32.730 energy within art. 168 00:10:32.730 --> 00:10:34.881 So thanks for visiting. 169 00:10:34.881 --> 00:10:38.048 (soft exciting music)