WORKS > Weather Chandelier

Weather Chandelier
Glass, phosphorescent crystal mixture, metal, solar panel, sunshine (in Toyama)
700 x 700 x 550mm (as chandelier)
2015
Weather Chandelier
Glass, phosphorescent crystal mixture, metal, solar panel, sunshine (in Toyama)
700 x 700 x 550mm (as chandelier)
2015
Weather Chandelier
Glass, phosphorescent crystal mixture, metal, solar panel, sunshine (in Toyama)
700 x 700 x 550mm (as chandelier)
2015
Weather Chandelier
Glass, phosphorescent crystal mixture, metal, solar panel, sunshine (in Toyama)
700 x 700 x 550mm (as chandelier)
2015
Weather Chandelier
Glass, phosphorescent crystal mixture, metal, solar panel, sunshine (in Toyama)
700 x 700 x 550mm (as chandelier)
2015

This work is inspired by the unstable weather in Toyama, Japan. “Weather Chandelier” is a vehicle to visualize natural light, and the brightness of the work depends on weather. It uses a phosphorescent glass that absorbs UV light like sunshine then emits it slowly over time to illuminate darkness without any light resources. I was drawn to using this type of glass to record and contain sunshine because the sun does not shine much in Toyama. The cloudy environment helped me realize how vital sunshine is for me both mentally and physically. How can I bottle and release sunshine in glass?

I used phosphorescent glass to provide this characteristic for my chandelier. For this art installation — exhibited inside a small bird watching shed in Toyama Prefectural Park, Japan — my work is connected to a solar panel. During the day, the solar panel provides electricity to light up the chandelier, and it stays lit when nobody is in this room. When people enter the shed, the light on the chandelier will turn off and the glass is illuminated as bluish color without any light resources. The phosphorescent glass in the chandelier then recharges when the visitors leave and the lights turn on again. Because the installation charges from the solar panel, how bright the phosphorescent glass in the chandelier glows depends on that day’s weather and sunshine.

-Exhibition venue: Toyama Prefectural Park (JP), Glasmuseet Ebeltoft (DK)

-Collection: Glasmuseet Ebeltoft (DK)

-Photo credit: Kichiro Okamura