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Credit: David Blandy, Atomic Light, installation view, John Hansard Gallery, 2023. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Reece Straw

Atomic Light review: Solar astronomers rescue an uneven installation

22 March 2023

Four films make up Atomic Light by video and installation artist David Blandy, a work marred by overstatement, but saved by the story of two solar astronomers who drew the sun on the day of the Hiroshima blast

Images and caption info from the book Your Brain on Art Universe of Water Particles on a Rock where People Gather ? teamLab The interdisciplinary arts collective teamLab created an audience-driven experience in Tokyo called teamLab Borderless that brings the natural world to life. See image E in the color insert. The collective incorporates light, sound, and visual effects that feel as though you are part of the art, and that seem to transcend our normal perceptions of time and place. As you meander through the space, you are able to manipulate the surroundings through touch, and to watch as digital flowers bloom, and die, and bloom again. We often think of ourselves as individuals separate from our surroundings, from nature, but this stunning interactive museum dissolves the boundary between art and the viewer, allowing you to feel your surroundings in a visceral way. Composed of artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians, and architects, teamLab represents the exciting, transdisciplinary collaborations of the future.

Your Brain on Art review: Fascinating guide needs a bit more science

22 March 2023

From a virtual-reality snowscape used for pain relief for burns to immersive art to boost your mood, we all gain from aesthetic engagement, argues a book from Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross that needed a little more science to make it a great read

On Sonorous Seas review: What a dead whale can tell us

10 August 2022

When a beaked whale carcass washed up near her home, part of a mass stranding around the region, Mhairi Killin was inspired to launch an artistic challenge to the military's impact in the area

Journey to Infinity review: M. C. Escher's art of the impossible

11 August 2021

M. C. Escher thought the passion for tiling, symmetry and infinity reflected in his woodcuts meant he wasn't a "real" artist. Luckily, as Robin Lutz's playful doc makes clear, the future knew better, says Simon Ings

How the pandemic is revolutionising art galleries and museums

3 February 2021

What have covid-19 closures done to art galleries and museums? From virtual tours of mothballed shows to advanced tech like lidar, they are finding new, more personal ways to wow audiences

Mario Klingemann's Memories of Passersby

The Artist in the Machine opens our eyes to AI's amazing creativity

11 December 2019

Arthur I. Miller's sure-footed survey of machine art reveals a world of beauty, but his book slips a gear when it tries to marry creativity to consciousness

Nam June Paik exhibition recreates his prophetic video visions

27 November 2019

From video walls to an electronic Sistine chapel, the Tate Modern’s show on Korean cult media artist Nam June Paik reveals his searing prophetic views of the electronic age

Science could learn a lot from Mona Chalabi’s mischievous chart art

4 June 2019

Mona Chalabi's work is a compelling mix of illustration with a journalistic work ethic and a rigorous approach to statistics. The science and art worlds could do with more of this "TMI Queen"

Antony Gormley’s virtual reality adventure lets you ski on the moon

27 March 2019

Best known for his figures celebrating the human form, Antony Gormley’s latest endeavour is an epic virtual reality project letting you fly through space