Geist is a new artwork by Loop inspired by the elusive neutrino particle. Neutrinos, in their very nature, are tiny, almost massless particles that are extremely hard to detect but are believed to make up the fabric of the universe. They are believed to have been created by the Big Bang and nuclear reactions inside stars and planets. Neutrinos are omnipresent, and it is thought that billions of them pass through our bodies every second. Particle physicists use mammoth neutrino detectors to hunt and trace these so-called ‘ghost particles.’
Inspired by these enormous neutrino detectors, Geist is our exploration of the complex game of ‘hide and seek’ that scientists play to find and provide evidence for the existence of these particles. Only by hitting mass do these particles become electronically charged and therefore detectable.
Geist uses a mirror illusion to create a suspended spherical object of light, viewable 360 degrees around the sculpture. The sculpture itself is shaped like an octagonal carousel, 6m in diameter, each of its faces a 3x3m window into a figment of mirror and light. The illusion is interactive; only by the proximity and movement of the public does the suspended sphere of light come to life. Individually addressable LED modules start flickering and glimmering in the presence of people. The public is the cause of the artwork’s existence; their mass emits a response from the artwork: a version of ‘hide and seek.’
Creative coding by Motus Art6
Sound Design by Dan Bibby
Loop is the collaborative artistic partnership of artists Harriet Lumby and Alan Hayes. Based in their Somerset studio, they have established a reputation for creating large-scale experiential installations. They have over twenty years of combined practice, focusing on utilizing reflections and illusion at the intersection of technology, science, and art, and have created a common theme throughout their visually impactful architectural style work.
