The idea of the lighthouse as a sculpture is drawn from Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse. In her book, the lighthouse represents a place for observation and the consideration of human or social relations. In the natural landscape, one can find solace from subjective struggles and joys while partaking in the vistas and views along the coastline. While the shelter becomes a destination in its own right, its location next to the seawall is in constant use by bird watchers, runners, cyclists and dog walkers.

Remnants from the past salt industry have come to shape the cultural history of Salterns Marsh and Pennington Marsh, as well as the physical terrain of its coastline. The salt collected there has been of value to humanity for many centuries, but aerogel – a solid material artificially produced from gel (and originating from stone) – connects to the future of humanity rather than to its past. Aerogel is the lightest material, and has the highest insulation capabilities, of all the materials we have so far explored and developed on Earth. Its high energy and strength, luminescence, and ultra-light weight account for its value and make it a perfect material for this rough, outdoor site. 

Aerogel is 95% air; it is only three times heavier than air and its pores are a thousand times finer than the thread in a spider’s web. A gram of aerogel, however, would cover the surface of a football pitch… Coincidentally, its physical qualities are visually quite similar to that of salt, and even when viewed in its original form, it could be mistaken for a grain of salt. Because the future is dependent on energy and energy management, aerogel has become, much like salt, one of the most valuable tools we have today. In this commission the research and fascination with aerogel comes from a very sculptural consideration of the material and how it interacts with light, as well as an interest in paying tribute to new technological developments.