Bioluminescence - Magical, sustainable lighting of the future?

I absolutely love the thought that our parks and gardens could possibly be illuminated in the future by harnessing the natural beauty and bioluminescent qualities of plant life such as plankton.

This is the topic I explored when creating my artwork "Glow in the Park".

Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction within a living organism. Bioluminescence is a type of chemiluminescence, which is simply the term for a chemical reaction where light is produced. You can witness bioluminescence at work in the selected bays around the world that contain a particular type of plankton. When the waves crash on the beach they glow blue. Fireflies also use bioluminescence to glow in the night sky.

Following a successful entry into the Loddon Mallee Renewable Energy Art Award, I was selected as one of 10 artists, and the representative for the Bendigo region.

My large, acrylic artwork represents my vision of "Our renewable energy future" in the Bendigo community. It will form part of the Loddon Mallee Renewable Energy Art Award exhibition, along with 9 other artworks, which will tour regional libraries from Mildura to Macedon from December 2019 - December 2020.

My piece explores the possibility of bioluminescence as a future energy source by depicting the Cascades Fountain in Rosalind Park being lit up by the soft, natural light of bioluminescence. To create an interactive experience, I used fluorescent paint, that when charged with light or heat would glow in the dark. I recently attended the launch of the exhibition at Swan Hill Regional Library and enjoyed viewing the talents of exhibiting artists and learning about their ideas on renewable energy.

Thank you to the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning, Regional Arts Victoria, and the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance for the opportunity to represent the City of Greater Bendigo in this exhibition.

Look out for the "Our renewable energy future" exhibition. Coming to a regional Library near you!