A fusion of function and form, Light Embrace utilises 360-degree LED light tubes to present lines of light organised into a rhythmic geometric form, creating a harmonious internal space that invites the viewer into the arms of the embrace and to be enveloped in light. The work is to be encountered and experienced with the aim of generating a feeling of connection with the work both in the embrace and from a distance. The exploration of formal elements such as circles, ellipses made using multiple straight lines is the focus of this work and Jeannie’s previous work, with light being the new way of forming lines.

Inspired by artists such as Josef Albers, Jesus Rafael Soto, and Sol Le Witt, Light Embrace is Jeannie’s latest ambitious work that derives from her methodical and systematic approach to drawing. Her process begins with repetitious and rhythmic drawing of lines on paper often in harmony with the breath and organised into geometric forms and spaces. The repetitious and rhythmic drawing produced with attention to breath was born out of the artist’s isolation during Covid in 2020 when she created drawings to try and find order out of chaos and to present imagined metaphorical (safe) places to inhabit. Drawings are then translated with a material line, shifting the drawing from the 2D to 3D space using light in the case of Light Embrace.

Light Embrace translates the line with animated lines of light to create geometrical forms, and a volume of space in a scale relationship with the body as abstract spaces to inhabit. The sculpture itself becomes a framework for transient light drawings, to envelop the viewer, intrigue the eye and celebrate connections between people and the joy of shared experiences.

Jeannie has commissioned the bespoke services of LED lighting company, Abstract to work with her to develop Light Embrace.

Artist Bio:

Jeannie Driver is a British Artist, with a cross-disciplinary practice, that encompasses drawing, installation and film. She has exhibited nationally, regionally and locally and maintains a strong link with Portsmouth, her adopted home town, having started her career in public art and socially engaged practice following study at University of Portsmouth. Portsmouth projects from this time include The Colour Happened on the Inside, situated around the infamous Tricorn building and her ground-breaking Spike It project.

Winning ACE awards Jeannie has created a substantial body of work, exhibiting nationally, including, Lines of Passage, Salisbury; Cyclical Flow, The Art House, London; Cyclical Drift, Coals Drops Yard, London; Stretching A Line, SVA, Stroud; When Contents Become Form, Arybyte. Recent commissioned installations, based on drawing as encounter include; Degrees of Ambiguity, 2021,Courtx, Southsea; The Space Between, & On The Circumference, Dazzle + Disrupt, 2021 Quay Arts, Isle of Wight; Manifestation of a Cube, Jack House Gallery; Outside In, The Unstable Line, 2022, Air Gallery, Manchester. Jeannie currently works from a studio located in Art Space Portsmouth.

Jeannie has commissioned the bespoke services of UK manufacturers of LED lighting, Abstract Pixel LED to work with her to develop Light Embrace.