Field of light to host 28,000 fibre-optic light pods

An art installation featuring 28,000 stemmed spheres lit by solar-powered fibre optics will open at the University of Texas, in Austin, on 9 September.

Field of Light, by British artist Bruce Munro, will illuminate six hectares of the university’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

The immersive installation – which uses optical fibre, glass, acrylic and light – was inspired by Munro’s travels through central Australia and aims to showcase the intersection of art, technology and nature.

“My hope is that the Field of Light installation will inspire visitors to contemplate a kinder and more connected world,” said Munro. “The Wildflower Center is the ideal venue for this exhibition simply because it brings people, art and nature together.

“I wanted to create an illuminated field of stems that, like the dormant seed in a dry desert, would burst into bloom at dusk with gentle rhythms of light under a blazing blanket of stars.”

The display has been installed in several locations since 2008, including at the Festival Simbionte in Mexico City, the Hans Christian Andersen Haven in Denmark, the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in Georgia, and twice at Discovery Green in Houston.

Lee Clippard, executive director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, said: “ The shifts of colour and light will be a unique and provocative way to celebrate our central Texas landscape.”

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