Garland the Gate

By Laura Spark

To celebrate and introduce this year’s theme ‘The Art of Science’, artist Laura Spark is adorning the walls of Lancaster Castle Gatehouse with some of her favourite examples of the beauty and wonder of science, both historical and contemporary.

Art is often thought of as playful and science as rigorous but the forefront of science is playful and experimental, finding undiscovered ways to further understand ourselves, our world, the species we share it with and our universe. The more we look, the more beauty we find. From looking out to the stars to photographing organisms at a cellular level, artistic practices and approaches are used to capture data and convey scientific concepts. 

Expect to see the 600 year old brickwork of the gatehouse lit up with examples of  sacred geometry, natural science illustrations and state of the art microscopic anatomical imagery. 

With a passion for the natural world, Laura often utilises the intersection between art and science in her work, exploring where science meets spiritual and folk practices, early developments in various scientific fields, and science fiction. Here she draws from a collection of archival and original imagery to playfully decorate the castle gates.

With thanks to Histology slides by Parabhen Lad, and 19th century book illustration images from the archive of the British Library 

www.lauraspark.co.uk 

Instagram – @laura.spark

 

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Somnius

By Illumpahonium

A mesmerising sky of light and sound dances above us in response to our every movement. Reminding us of our ongoing relationship with the cosmos, nature and each other.  An unrestricted reimagining of the world… together. 

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is reality”. 

Yoko Ono

Somnius is not an individual dream, but a collective one.

DID YOU KNOW…

• Somnius is made up of 6km of LED. Which is three quarters of a million pixels
• Each light bar has been lovingly handmade in the artists’ workshop on the Blackdown Hills.
• There are over 50,000 solder joints.  

About the Artists

Illumaphonium pride themselves on being a thriving neuro diverse team with expertise in areas such as design, mechanical engineering, creative therapies, computer sciences and music making.

Within the relatively new genre of light art they are leading the field when it comes to interactivity, blurring the boundaries between entertainment and art, creating fully participatory illuminated installation work for public spaces around music and musical instruments – which by their very nature are hugely interactive. They strive to create truly authentic experiences for audiences, something to be experienced, not observed. Instilling a sense of awe and wonder in all those that encounter the work. They embrace technology but never allow it to guide the design of the work. Instead asking the question ‘what will be the social function of this artwork?’ and then ‘what form will that take?’ The social function of illumaphonium is always the same – togetherness. Something we as humans are craving now more than ever.

Music is the one universal communication tool that requires no language. By participating in spontaneous music making we create and experience equality together – together with whoever else is there.

The work offers creative expression to people who would not normally think of themselves as ‘creative’. People engage with the work without language, there is no need for instruction, there is no need for any previous training of knowledge, there are no age limits, it is free and it is beautiful. It can bring all kinds of people together, and it does.