Photonics

The Science

This artwork is a collaboration between Matthew Griffiths and Rachel Rayner, brought together by Lifeology*. Matthew created the piece in response to Rachel's poem "Photonics", published in the first issue of Consilience: “Reading Rachel’s poem I felt I was seeing scenes as layers of remembered fragments. I wanted to investigate the way we see; variably opaque layers of objects under the haze of memory. Light can reveal but also hide. I combined drawn and digital elements in a multi-layered document, playing with colours and opacities to build a surreal scene that reflected the feeling I captured from the poem. My aim is to enhance the poem’s emotion rather than explain its meaning, which I believe should be left to the audience.”

*Lifeology funded this collaborative piece. It is a platform that brings together scientists, artists, writers, and broader audiences in the creation of visual science and health communication, including mobile-friendly Lifeology mini-courses that can reach anyone.

The Artist

Matthew Griffiths is a multi-medium artist passionate about using visual media for meaningful storytelling. His work involves film, animation, writing, photography, graphic design, and traditional media. For 10 years Matthew oversaw the content studio Echo Ledge Media. Throughout his career he has collaborated with local and international organisations producing content on key issues including Democracy, Human Rights, Health, Governance, Affordable Housing, and more. Matthew has recently expanded his portfolio to children’s books and media. “The Inside Book”, his free-to-download response to COVID-19, was featured in the media, on many book websites, and translated into 9 languages. Connect on Instagram @mattcgriffiths_art and on Twitter @mattcgriffiths.

Copyright statement. This work is published under the CC BY-NC-SA license