Liz West has gone back to the basics of vision with her new light work at the Natural History Museum that explores our fundamental relationship with colour. Her dazzling installation has joined 350 historical specimens for the Museum's landmark exhibition, 'Colour and Vision'.
The British artist, who recently caught our eye with a stunning reflective work in a decomissioned church, intends Our Spectral Vision to be 'an immersive whack of bright colour' that sets the stage for the rest of the eye-popping show, where phosphorescent butterflies and bold-winged hummingbirds are preserved in stunning hues.
It was these examples of naturally occuring, otherwordly colours that inspired West's work, and she was allowed unique access into the Museum's archives during her research process. 'The iridescent patterns and colourings present on the birds, insects and animals in the Natural History Museum collection have inspired the variety and selection of colours in this artwork,' she explains. 'The science behind the natural processes of colour researched here at the Museum has provided the backbone for my work.'
As well as working closely with the Museum, West delved into the science history books, as she has been doing the last ten years. Much of her oeuvre is preoccupied with systems of vision, and she treats each new work as an experiment in light, inspired by the way Isaac Newton experimented with disassembling and reassembling white light into the visible colour spectrum.
Made from dichroic glass – a material that changes tone when it's moved – the work comprises seven, psychedelic vertical prisms that visitors are invited to interact with, watching the colours dance inside. With nights already lengthening over London, this exhibition is sure to brighten up autumn.
The installation is 'an immersive whack of bright colour' that sets the stage for the rest of the eye-popping show, where phosphorescent butterflies and bold-winged hummingbirds are preserved in stunning hues. Pictured: installation view
It was these examples of naturally occuring, otherwordly colours that inspired West's work, and she was allowed unique access into the Museum's archives during her research process. Pictured: installation view
'The iridescent patterns and colourings present on the birds, insects and animals in the Natural History Museum collection have inspired the variety and selection of colours in this artwork,' she explains. Pictured: installation view
Made from dichroic glass – a material that changes tone when it's moved – the work comprises seven, psychedelic vertical prisms that visitors are invited to interact with. Pictured: installation view
INFORMATION
’Colour and Vision’ continues until 6 November 2016. For more information, visit the Natural History Museum website
Photography: © Hannah Devereux
-
Frieze London 2025: all the fashion moments to look out forThe best fashion happenings to add to your Frieze London 2025 schedule, from Dunhill’s curation of talks at Frieze Masters to an exhibition of furniture by Rick Owens
-
Artists reflect on Kate Bush lyrics for a War Child auctionPeter Doig and Maggi Hambling are among artists interpreting Kate Bush’s 1985 track ‘Running Up That Hill’ for War Child’s online auction
-
Explore Tom Kundig’s unusual houses, from studios on wheels to cabins slotted into bouldersThe American architect’s entire residential portfolio is the subject of a comprehensive new book, ‘Tom Kundig: Complete Houses’
-
Leo Costelloe turns the kitchen into a site of fantasy and uneaseFor Frieze week, Costelloe transforms everyday domesticity into something intimate, surreal and faintly haunted at The Shop at Sadie Coles
-
Can surrealism be erotic? Yes if women can reclaim their power, says a London exhibition‘Unveiled Desires: Fetish & The Erotic in Surrealism, 1924–Today’ at London’s Richard Saltoun gallery examines the role of desire in the avant-garde movement
-
Tiffany & Co’s artist mentorship at Frieze London puts creative exchange centre stageAt Frieze London 2025, Tiffany & Co partners with the fair’s Artist-to-Artist initiative, expanding its reach and reaffirming the value of mentorship within the global art community
-
Em-Dash is a small press redefining the indie zine beyond nostalgiaThe South London publishing studio's new imprint 'Practice Meets Paper' translates a chosen artist’s practice into print. Wallpaper*s senior designer Gabriel Annouka speaks with the founders, Saundra Liemantoro and Aarushi Matiyani, to find out more
-
‘It is about ensuring Africa is no longer on the periphery’: 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in LondonThe 13th edition of 1-54 London will be held at London’s Somerset House from 16-19 October; we meet founder Touria El Glaoui to chart the fair's rising influence
-
‘Sit, linger, take a nap’: Peter Doig welcomes visitors to his Serpentine exhibitionThe artist’s ‘House of Music’ exhibition, at Serpentine Galleries, rethinks the traditional gallery space, bringing in furniture and a vintage sound system
-
Who was Denton Welch, the cult writer and painter who inspired everyone from Alan Bennett to William S. Burroughs?Cult queer figure Denton Welch was a talented, yet overlooked, artist. Now an exhibition of his work at John Swarbrooke Fine Art aims to change that
-
Frieze Sculpture is back – here's what to see in Regent's ParkFrieze Sculpture has returned to Regent's Park. As London gears up for Art Week, here's what to see on the fringes
