liz west bathes manchester gallery in a luminous chromatic expanse

liz west bathes manchester gallery in a luminous chromatic expanse
all photos by stephen iles / courtesy of liz west

visitors to castlefield gallery’s federation house find themselves bathed in a luminous chromatic expanse, immersed in a gradient of hues that mimic a rainbow’s spectrum. manchester-based artist liz west has installed ‘your colour perception’ within all 5,000 square feet of the exhibition space using T8 fluorescent bulbs and cellulose gels, artificially ‘painting’ the site with color.

west has installed ‘your colour perception’ within all 5,000 square feet of the exhibition space

the visceral experience is overloaded with illumination, testing the psychological, physical, emotional and spiritual responses visitors undergo during their encounter with the work. both the site’s existing architecture and surrounding environment play an important role in the installation’s sensory result — darkness outside enhances the strength of the saturation, while structural beams offer landing points for light to wrap around. open for one weekend only (january 31st and february 1st, 2015), the immersive landscape offered viewers a dramatic and stimulating scene, set within an typical visual art venue.

T8 fluorescent bulbs and cellulose gels artificially ‘paint’ the site with color

the sensory and visceral experience is overloaded with illumination

both the site’s existing architecture and surrounding environment play an important role in the installation’s sensory result

light wraps around architectural beams existing in the site