Circuit, Peter Roche
Circuit, by Auckland artist Peter Roche, celebrated the achievments of Ernest, Lord Rutherford, the farther of atomic science and 'the greatest experimental scientist of the twentieth Century' (Time Magazie).
Commissioned for SCAPE 2004 this kinetic interactive light work was previously installed underground outside the original clocktower block of Canterbury College - now The Arts Centre of Christcurch, marking the site where Rutherford studied and undertook his research. The work was de-installed in March 2009.
The work had both a resting state and an activated state, triggered by people walking on the glass covering it. Roche said he wanted to create a work that captured aspects of Rutherford's work and ideas and evoked a sense of the dynamic and kinetic worlds he was exploring - an artowork that is evocative rather than descriptive, where 'the viewer becomes the charge'.
With thanks to: artist Peter Roche, Rutherford Den Trust, Christchurch City Council, Art & Industry Biennial Trust, The Arts Centre of Christchurch and Canterbury Community Trust.
Image: Circuit, Peter Roche, 2004
Photography: Lightworkx Photography
Circuit was de-installed in March 2009