Monday 10 August 2015

Liz West talks about her practice for new LEE Filters mini-documentary

An Additive Mix is Liz West's most ambitious installation, incorporating a purpose build 10m x 5m room with infinity mirrors and 250 6ft fluorescent lamps at the National Media Museum, Bradford. The new work has been developed over the past seven months to form part of the exhibition Light Fantastic: Adventures in the Science of Light which celebrates the UNESCO International Year of Light.

The new work, West’s largest commission to date, turns this occurrence of natural science on its head; reassembling the diffracted colours of the rainbow and projecting them to ‘infinity’ as visitors explore the space.

Within the installation 191 individual colours are combined with a surrounding series of mirrors, reflecting a dynamic and intense illumination throughout the space. An Additive Mix draws from the principle that white light comprises different colours of the spectrum, called additive colours, and immerses visitors in a physical actualization of the phenomenon. Those entering the exhibition space become completely saturated in varied hues that collectively create white light in a seemingly endless expanse.

Liz used hundreds of LEE Filters in the making of this new work, therefore LEE Filters decided to make a mini-documentary about Liz's practice and most recent works, including the development of An Additive Mix.