Museum of American Glass, NJ
Uranium glass orbs in mixed media installation
Dimensions variable
Site photography by Jaime Alvarez
As a component of her ongoing research of uranium, Yarrington became interested in diagrammatic models of electrons in orbit around a uranium nucleus. After reviewing mid-twentieth century board games made in response to that era’s craze surrounding nuclear power, such as “Uranium Rush,” she began to consider the model of the uranium atom like a board game in which each of the 92 electrons would be replaced by 4.5-inch spheres made of uranium glass. Inside each sphere is a manipulated image taken from other sources of online atomic bomb documentation; personal archives; archival research at the Harry S. Truman Museum; the BnF collection of Marie Curie’s original notebooks and the archives of the Marie Curie Museum. The images in these spheres, when backlit, become small projection devices, creating in miniature a history emanating the uses and abuses of uranium.
-Julie Courtney, Invited Curator
Video slideshow of the installation showcasing the on site audio accompaniment of Allen Ginsberg reciting "Humbomb”.
