Glass | Light

Light brings together glass and slate in a way that allows each material to retain its own character while working in quiet balance. The smooth, translucent quality of stacked glass sits in dialogue with the dark, rugged surface of black slate, creating a sculpture that is both grounded and luminous. While the sculpture itself is fixed and permanent, the light it responds to is constantly changing.

This sculpture is installed at Auchindoune House, near Cawdor in the Scottish Highlands. Standing at approximately eight feet in height, Light is conceived as a representation of the galaxy we inhabit; the Milky Way. The spiral arms of the galaxy are expressed through a rising helix constructed in black slate, supporting a stacked glass sphere that represents the concentrated light at the galaxy’s centre.

The glass sphere weighs close to three tonnes and is constructed from more than one hundred individually shaped layers of glass. Parts of the sculpture were assembled in my workshop before being transported and rebuilt on site, a process that demanded careful planning and a deep understanding of both materials. The junction where slate meets glass is critical: it is here that weight, balance and contrast resolve into a single, unified form.

Throughout the day, the sculpture changes character. When the sun is high, the glass holds a deep green hue: a moody emerald that sits richly against the slate. As the light lowers in the sky, the sphere begins to transform. Light striking one side of the glass travels through the layered structure and causes the opposite side to illuminate, creating an ethereal glow.

Although monumental in presence, Light remains sensitive to its surroundings. Set against the landscape and architecture of the Highlands, it can be read from a distance, where form and scale dominate, or experienced up close, where detail, material and light reveal themselves gradually.

Versions of Light may also be realised at other scales, allowing the core idea to adapt to different settings while retaining its essential character.