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Atomic Light review: Solar astronomers rescue an uneven installation

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

22 March 2023

Credit: David Blandy, Atomic Light, installation view, John Hansard Gallery, 2023. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Reece Straw — Atomic Light (installation view) by David Blandy at the John Hansard Gallery
Reece Straw/David Blandy

David Blandy

John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton, UK

Until 6 May

ONE of four short films by video and installation artist David Blandy, called The Edge of Forever, opens with a mournful panning shot of Cuckmere Haven in East Sussex. A less apocalyptic place is hard to imagine: Cuckmere is one of the most ravishing spots in the south-east of England. Still, the voice-over insists we contemplate “a ravaged Earth” and “forgotten peoples” as we watch two children exploring a post-human future.…

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