“Wavelengths." Gases That Fabricate Light + Design; in Atmospheric/Outer Space and Curated Space. 

(2017)

​

     These three neon pieces have been an exploration of working with glass materials in collaboration with three periodic elements, Neon, Argon and Mercury. It is intriguing how noble/inert gases can emit colorful light from their individual wavelengths, in the electromagnetic spectrum. The Aurora Borealis is created by the planet’s magnetic field combined with atmospheric gases. What happens in an aurora is similar to what happens in the neon lights we see on many business signs. Electricity is used to excite the atoms in the neon gas within the glass tubes. That’s why these signs give off their brilliant colors. The aurora works on the same principle – but at a far more vast scale powered by the sun. Our desire for neon lights as a artistic medium has become aesthetically appealing to us, it is used in curated spaces like galleries and businesses, for marketing and branding.

​

These captured gases give us a slice of nature that is usually out of our reach, but we use it to catch other people's attention without the science explained. This neon series was inspired by gaseous wavelengths and bending light (a term used for discussing refractions of light wavelengths), which is also a parallel to what neon makers are called, benders. Although these pieces are not precise forms of how light wavelengths might look like, they are an attempt to interest the public into the world of electromagnetic light.