LISA CAHILL

Glass forms and surface textures offer an invitation to explore our intimate connections to the natural world. Kiln forming and cold working glass enables me to manipulate light - a distinctive feature of the Australian environment - evoking notions of an ephemeral experience. Rather than a direct reproduction, my artworks are an interpretation of light and landscape. Making new work is imperative to retaining continued enthusiasm for my studio practice.

A recent project with Craft + Design Canberra provided a professional development opportunity to extend my glassmaking beyond familiar forms. The project saw the creation of wall and pendent lights, a form which I was enthused to explore further, via the creation of this entry, the Aurora Borealis Pendant Light.

This new work uses familiar materials in a new form. I drew inspiration from the aurora borealis, the transient curtains of light which, under certain conditions, form in ribbons across the night sky. Technically the work required significant design innovation as I resolved how to capture this fleeting phenomenon of nature, in an elegant and expressive form. The lightness of the design was critical as I worked to create a form which captured this transient experience. The finished product is an elegant articulation of light against black, of movement against stillness.

Lisa Cahill is a Canberra based glass artist. She graduated from Monash University in 2000. A regular finalist in the Tom Malone, Ranamok, and Hindmarsh Glass prizes, she was awarded the Art Group Creative Fellowship at Canberra Glassworks in 2018. International commissions include site specific artworks for Tiffany & Co in Sydney, Melbourne, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and Nobu Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Aurora Borealis Pendant Light, 2023
Kiln formed glass, powder coated aluminium, stainless steel cable, LED
1420mm L x 100mm W x 160mm H
$6,500