Glass, light and sound installation
Alison Kinnaird, artist and musician, composed the melody Psalmsong for Scottish harps, which was inspired by her knowledge of Gaelic psalms. This artwork is a visual expression of the emotion contained in the music.
Images of the human figure, in various poses, have been engraved by the artist onto overlapping glass panels of dichroic (tinted) glass and illuminated using fibre optic lighting. The interlacing patterns engraved on the glass are based on the patterns produced by playing the notes of the Scottish harps into a computer at Edinburgh University's Physics Department and sampling the sound waves. The artist has used these patterns to represent the notes in her composition.
The glass and light installation is accompanied by a recording of the Psalmsong music, performed by the artist on Highland and Lowland harps, cello and glass itself.
The artist received the Glass Sellers' Award 2004 for Psalmsong.