Rui Sasaki, a Japanese artist, captures the ephemeral beauty of weather in her series “Liquid Sunshine”. Her glow-in-the-dark glass sculptures are a poetic exploration of light and intimacy, translating the subtleties of sunshine and weather patterns into speckled, radiant forms. Sasaki’s work is not just visual; it’s experiential, inviting viewers to engage with the changing light and to find a personal connection with the atmospheric conditions she so delicately represents.
The “Liquid Sunshine” installation is particularly mesmerizing, consisting of a series of glowing glass orbs that illuminate in response to their environment. It’s an intimate dance between the artwork and its surroundings, a visual representation of Sasaki’s love for rain and her identity as a pluviophile — a lover of rain.
The question behind this work is: how can I visualize sunshine in glass? I am interested in using phosphorescent types of glass to record and contain sunshine because 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. This artwork was exhibited at Gallery S12 in Bergen, Norway where the weather is almost as cloudy and rainy as Toyama. 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.
Rui Sasaki
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