Janet Echelman – 1.8

Artist and planetary observer Janet Echelman is displaying one of her suspended experimental netted cocoon structures through the streets of central London in collaboration with Lumiere London.  This extensive light show exhibition will take place between 6:30-10:30pm each evening from the 14-17th January and will be a free, sociable and inspiring event. Echelman's soaring structures featured in our Selvedge Issue 12 where we touch upon her wonderful work being draped in an old three-tiered interior court, now a corporate Spanish bank. Echelman 's numerical title '1.8' is named after the Japanese 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The earthquake's vibration inspired Echelman to focus her new project on the fact that the earth's rotation was sped up by this natural disaster therefore shortening the day by a total of 1.8 microseconds. Studio Echelmon's connection to this piece was intensified through data obtained by NASA enabling them to transform it into a 3D image. Together, with the use of textiles and technology Echelman's Studio managed to design this beautiful nomadic mass between nature and science. Thanks again to modern technology a specially created app will permit the audience to alter the images projected onto the piece, encapsulating an interactive installation. Being inspired by natural forces in particular water, sunlight and wind, Echelman and her studio create textured earthy sculptures that stand out particularly amongst their surroundings as you can see in her previous installations such as ''As If It were Already Here'' in Boston and ''1.26'' in Sydney, Australia 2011. The London light show exhibition will similarly show this real juxtaposition of enormous soft textural shape and contours against the architecturally structural qualities of Oxford Circus. It looks like it will certainly both imprint and impress your mind. Catch Echelman's work again at this year's Lumiere festival in London 14-17 January 2016