
Monumental Light: James Turrell's Skyspaces
James Turrell is an artist whose palette is light, making the ephemeral monumental and encouraging his audience to look 'beyond', to see the extraordinary in the every day.
Originally inspired by his day-job as a pilot flying planes close to the edge of the earth's atmosphere and through intense weather systems over Tibet and Laos, he now relentlessly explores the limitless 'into the blue' sensation of vertigo that flying vertically up brings.
Part of this body of works are his 'sky-spaces'; simple buildings with an aperture incorporated within the structure that opens onto a small section of sky.
The interiors of these spaces are gently lit to imperceptibly change colour, thus altering the perception of the small section of sky above ones head, (orange makes blue stronger, purple weakens the blueness) The simplicity of the building and materials used in construction, combined with the calm sensation of just sitting contemplating the sky give the Sky Spaces a church-like quality of worshiping light.
I have been lucky enough to spend some time enjoying one of these spaces and I highly recommend the experience if you ever get the opportunity.
You might also like
Revealing Beauty: The English Home
If you think you recognise this elegant townhouse you might just be right… Our vintage lights feature in this 19th-century captain’s home in Falmouth, as seen in The English Home magazine.
In the press| InteriorsA final farewell to RAF Scampton
A journey through time of this iconic site, from the launch-pad of The Dambuster Raid, to the home of the Red Arrows - and the lucky salvage of an astonishing array of airfield runway lights.
Lighting HistoryBedroom Lighting Ideas
Our lighting experts offer advice on how to light a bedroom that’s truly suited to your needs, whether that’s for working from home, or relaxing and unwinding in.
Lighting advice