Eternal Exchange XXXI : Silvered carved glass sculpture inspired by Lichens journey in space
Year : 2024
Dimensions : L43.5 x W36 x H17.5 cm
Have you ever been transfixed by the intricate beauty of lichens on a rocky seashore? When you start to explore lichens more closely they become endlessly fascinating and you start to see them everywhere.
An extraordinary narrative about lichens was the inspiration for Sally’s bright silvered, carved and engraved glass sculpture, Eternal Exchange XXXI.
To Sally’s surprise she found out that lichens are not plants, they are in fact mini ecosystems of fungi and usually algae. The lichens fungi and algae symbiotic relationship (although some would say it is not truely symbiotic) is very successful and stable and resilient.
Lichens survive in extreme environments. They thrive in deserts, at high altitude, can survive bone chilling temperatures near absolute zero AND can continue to grow after being subjected to 1000 rads per day for two years. To put this into context, a single exposure of 400 rads is fatal for us humans.
The European Space Agency conducted an experiment in 2005 where two species of lichen were launched into space. The lichens were brought back to earth after spending 2 weeks in the vacuum of space and did not appear to have suffered any damage to their health.
This extraordinary narrative of lichen energy exchange and their resilience to the extreme atmosphere in space sparked the beginnings of Eternal Exchange XXXI. It is being exhibited for the first time in Symbiose, le verre en duo at Charleroi Glass Museum in Belgium.
Available
On exhibition at Charleroi Glass Museum, Belgium
11 October 2024 – 9 March 2025