Jessica Loughlin

Jessica Loughlin plays with illusions of colour that can be transmitted through or reflected in the material of glass. She grinds white glass and co-opts water to move the powder particles across sheets of glass, allowing the water to evaporate before firing and fusing her evocative gestures of movement across the surface.

Solari, 2024 is a glass work that responds to architecture and creates a new focal point and shape of light in the building. A Latin term describing the experience of solace and being consoled, solari encourages a moment of pause and reflection and offers a way for observing the potential of light to create a particular impression. Light is captured within the piece, and with the change of light, the piece itself changes throughout the day.

The shape connects to various uses of the elliptical or circular window and opening and is informed by spirituality and Enlightenment ideas. Classical architecture has many examples of oculus (eye) openings in walls and ceilings, such as the Pantheon or oeil-de-boeuf windows in Baroque France and Britain. In Japanese architecture, the round window arises from Zen Buddhism, where a single brushstroke creates the ensō circle of enlightenment. Japanese tea rooms feature circular windows, these remaining closed to encourage individuals to focus inward and experience a more intense time of self-reflection. Solari creates a similar space for reflection for the viewer, where ideas of near and far coalesce with a sense of stillness, and the emphasis remains on how art can be felt rather than thought.