Luminescence
Luminescence began life as a commission for the cover image on a PhD thesis. Via a series of engaging and enlightening emails with my client - completing their PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry at the University of Uppsala - I learned an awful lot (ask me about Benzene rings!), and at the end we had this print. I had the print made into a rubber stamp which my client then used to stamp the cover of their thesis. They even kindly sent me a copy in the post, which I will treasure.
Edition of 20
Hand pulled using oil based ink on Japanese Hosho paper
This print went through quite a number of drawings, with a lot of thinking and background chat behind it before we hit on the final design. For my part I had to learn about a whole area of science that I hadn’t even thought about since I was 16, and to translate that knowledge into something which would work as cover art. It had to stand out, be bold and clear but small. My client was incredibly patient with me, and kept me on the right path each time I strayed into inaccuracies, as did my husband who was a chemist himself once upon a time. I began by thinking about alchemy, and the equipment and processes you’d find in an inorganic chemistry lab: the fume hoods, lab benches, flasks, test tubes, etc. I was introduced to the Benzene ring, column chromatography, chemistry as architecture, crystals, molecules, and to concepts and facts explaining how molecules absorb and emit light. I went down a few design blind alleys just trying to get my head around such a new subject in a creative way but in the end the final design came from a completely different direction. I’d been thinking about how to capture the magic of emitted visible light as I sat one day leafing through a book of paintings by Eric Ravilious. He studied harbour and lighthouse/lookout scenes in the years just prior to his death in the second world war, and something in how he captured light really resonated with me. Thankfully the concept also resonated with my client, as although it was a completely left field design, and a full departure from the concepts I’d been riffing off, we both felt that we’d come to the right conclusion. The results speak for themselves I hope. This is one of those commissions I have been incredibly humbled and proud to have been a part of.
