Output details

Emotional Leak - A large scale glass sculpture

Sarmiento aimed to visually express through glass sculpture, the atmosphere of a given space, to make physical what might happen if an ‘emotional leak’ were to burst in existing architecture. Commissioned by the National Glass Centre, Sarmiento worked with assistance from PhD researcher Erin Dickson. Emotional Leak is a large-scale sculpture that is constructed from 406 individual glass plates stacked from floor to ceiling. The precise contours of the leak are created using a water-jet cutter and could be considered a very large 3-dimensional print. The sculpture retains an organic quality that in some respects defies its method of manufacture. The glass forms a tactile surface and invites the viewer in for a closer inspection. The work is based on a time-lapse photographic recording of a literal leak from under the glass ceiling of the National Glass Centre. These photographs were then digitally traced and the resulting drawing was used to create the final 3-dimensional model, manipulated to create a smooth, undulating surface.

Emotional Leak was shown as part of the group exhibition, Kith and Kin, at the National Glass Centre (November 2011) and has been featured in COLLECT 2013, the Craft Council showcase at Saatchi Gallery, London. The artwork was published in New Glass Review 34, an annual competition for new artworks in glass. An artist presentation focused on Emotional Leak’s innovations in glass and print was selected for the Impact8, a conference for creative print.