The shields were a gesture of thanks and a metaphor for the life risking work being done by others – in particular our National Health Service.
It was pointed out to me at the time the irony of using fragile glass for a shield. But these shields are shields of light. The light interacting with them has travelled ninety-three million miles and is continually being renewed. Due to certain properties in the ‘antique’ glass known as metal oxides, only the colour we see is transmitted, all the other colours are absorbed by the shield or that particular part of the shield. For example in the orange section, all the colours of the spectrum remain captured by that section except for the orange which is allowed to pass through and so we experience that section as orange.
It is the first time my work will be displayed in the open air.
On completion of the glass shields I happened to photograph them on Mellis Common, against the open sky and saw that the sky, clouds and landscape transformed and became integral to the work itself. So, it is serendipitous that they are now being displayed outdoors at Addenbrooke’s.