Arts Thread

Leaning into the Unknown; Geometries of Light based on Leonardo Da Vinci's Optical Studies Leaning into the Unknown is an immersive, research-led installation that explores sustainability through creative practice, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s optical studies and designs for perpetual motion. Central to the work is a kinetic mechanism — a rotating structure based on Leonardo’s sketches — which rotates two hand-blown and etched glass roundels. Through these glass lenses, light is projected, creating stunning, immersive environments. These moving reflections show geometric patterns, revealing the underlying systems and temporal rhythms present in nature. The project merges aesthetic craft, scientific inquiry, and historical research. Traditional techniques such as stained glass-making are combined with engineering and digital media to create a work that is both materially refined and conceptually driven. The rotating mechanism is not only a visual centrepiece but a practical demonstration of how revisiting historic ideas with new technologies can inspire innovation today — particularly around themes of energy, motion, and resource use. Conversations during the exhibition sparked ongoing dialogue between artists, engineers, and scientists around the potential of collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to address sustainability and the energy crisis. This engagement reflected a shared interest in keeping open a space for curiosity, hope and experimentation. By engaging the viewer physically and perceptually, the installation encourages reflection on our relationship with energy, time, and transformation. It proposes that sustainability is not only an environmental concern, but also a cultural and perceptual one — about how we see, understand, and interact with systems over time. The work honours Leonardo’s pioneering curiosity and invites us to continue that spirit of inquiry, using creative practice to reimagine how we live, design, and build for a better future.