Phosphorescent Glass Sculptures Illuminate When People Are Around

In an ongoing series of artworks, Japanese artist Rui Sasaki made these gorgeous phosphorescent glass sculptures to ‘record and contain sunshine’. Sasaki adds:

“I do not get much sunshine in Toyama. Living in a cloudy environment helped me realize how vital sunshine is for me both mentally and physically. How can I bottle and release sunshine in glass? How can I visualize sunshine? Can I transfer sunshine from here to there?

Each thin phosphorescent glass bubble is charged by a solarium light when nobody is in the space where the work is installed. When someone enters, the solarium light switches off and the thin phosphorescent glass bubbles illuminate the space. The illumination slowly diminishes over time, and the space slowly grows darker and darker the longer a viewer stays there.”

Sasaki has ‘charged’ the phosphorescent sculptures outside, directly in the sun, or used a solar panel that in turn ‘charges’ the sculptures.

As the sculptures spent their ‘power’ over time, the color of the sculpture shifts from a green to a fading blue and finally back to darkness.

You can check out more on Sasaki’s website.