I've began new discussions with physicists from the Central Laser Facility around working on another project with them, we are both interested in the creative possibilities of working together. This new project will be around creating a device that can see x-rays or neutrons. The really exciting aspect of this project is that we will be making devices to see the world in a different way, in this way the project cuts to the core of the foundation of art and science.
I'm excited to be working on something that lets you see the world in a different way, its a device that makes the invisible, visible. I've been fascinated with light and our senses in my artwork for a long time, in particular the narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see defines us in some way as humans. The artwork Everything we are capable of seeing involved a rainbow in the dark to produce an an effect which would stimulate the entirety of the range of the human visible spectrum.
The electromagnetic spectrum covers wavelengths from thousands of kilometres to those less than the size of an atom. At one end is extremely long frequency waves and radio waves, somewhere in the middle is visible light and at the far end x-rays and gamma rays. Wikipedia of course has a good guide. It’s really exciting to be able to "see" in different wavelengths, each part of the spectrum has different properties and enables you to see something new. Of course we already do this as humans. A red object such as a berry in a holly bush is only visible primarily on one part of the visible spectrum, the green leaves are visible in another. If you were a certain type of bird you'd be able to see further, past the blue to ultraviolet and see other features that would appear invisible (or black) to us. Many other animals can see below red in the spectrum to infrared.
If you could see x-rays you'd see the world in a very different way, x-rays get stopped by very dense material. Images of medical x-rays of course image bones through flesh. There are different types, or energies of x-rays which will determine what it will pass through, at the Central Laser Foundation they've been making x-rays with lasers, by creating plasma. These can image objects through very dense material, for instance my hairdryer welded inside an aluminium box - look page 8 of the research paper here.
Neutrons image in a very different and complementary way to x-rays, they good at imaging less dense materials and are less affected by dense material. For instance you could “see” the oil moving through a metal engine with neutrons. Neutrons are a particle (there are different kinds) and can also be emitted from a plasma. Helping to create new detectors that could image both of these emissions would be a fascinating extension of my art practice, it would also involve a very interesting contribution to the science.
A key goal of mine in working with scientists is that the final work makes a contribution to all. This project is about exploring that universal creativity, having a focus on creating something that is all about vision makes the project particularly exciting.