About the Voynich Manuscript Series:

I am inspired by the Voynich Manuscript, an unsolved mystery from the 15th century. This manuscript is written in an unknown script, but I am even more fascinated by its enigmatic artwork that is unlike anything in other medieval art.

I bring the manuscript’s drawings to life in three dimensions, using porcelain, flameworked glass, and illuminated plasma. Each sculpture reflects a meticulous process and attention to detail, capturing the idiosyncrasies of the Voynich Manuscript’s original artist. These strange plants, figures and structures that I sculpt are clearly recognizable from the manuscript’s pages, yet their meaning and context remains obscured - until one day when perhaps we are able to read the text. My sculptures embody this mystery, facilitating a dialogue between it and the modern viewer. 

About this sculpture:

Drawings of stars appear throughout the Voynich Manuscript. There are over 300 drawings of figures who hold stars in the so-called "zodiac" section, and I find these images particularly compelling. Without being able to read the text, one can only speculate about what this recurring motif may mean. The stars we see in the night sky are made of plasma, but many light-years away and impossible to ever touch. So I created a touch-interactive star sculpture using the medium of plasma art - blown glass filled with noble gases. This sculpture is made from flameworked borosilicate glass, filled with a low pressure of krypton gas, and illuminated by a high voltage, high frequency electronic power supply. 

Materials:

Flameworked borosilicate glass, krypton gas, phosphors, high-voltage electronic power supply

"Starlight" was shown at the Glass Art Society's 2023 International Conference in Detroit, Michigan, USA.