Who would’ve thought that of all places, the temporary home of collaborative live art and science would reside on Russel Street? Yep that’s right, Luke Jerram has brought us an elegant experience of our relationship with the planets.

Tide exhibit

An understanding we cannot completely comprehend, gravity seems straightforward, but how are we effected by the pull of the sun and the moon. A sophisticated parallel to the tides of the seas and oceans, Luke Jerram raises questions of our awareness of gravity.

A specially designed gravity meter within the Peace Centre measures the gravitational pull of the moon and sun in relation to the Earth. This information is then calculated and fed through a large computer screen, tracing the changes in gravity over a twenty-four hour period. This signal is then sent to three mechanically driven water filled spinning spheres, and that is where the magic begins. Minute changes in the gravity are transformed into rising and falling water levels within the globes. The three globes held by tripods are constantly spinning creating a resonating sound, the frequencies changing as the water levels rise and fall. Like singing wine glasses the resonance encompasses you creating a breathtaking experience.

Tide exhibit

This persistently fluctuating reverberation provokes a sense of this space between the moon and the Earth, the constant movement and grinding of the solar system. The moon is controlling, live the encounter which you acquire from this audio experience. It is a mysterious and beautiful way of drawing us into a space and inciting a new understanding between sound and space.

Tidal forces have given us a comprehension of the complex theories of gravity. Luke Jerram’s sculpture takes this a stage further by making audible to us the relationship between the Earth, sun and moon. Upon experiencing Tide, our inner sense of space and distance is enhanced allowing a new perception of gravity and the movement of the planets.

Tide has the ingenious ability to take you out of one place and stimulate a new sense of spatial awareness. On a clear sunlit day at sunrise and sunset "Tide" is a beautiful phenomenon.