Invisible Dust

Peter Brimblecombe is a Professor in Atmospheric Chemistry at the School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia and was appointed senior editor of Atmospheric Environment in 1990. Working with contemporary artists and writers will give a new depth to Brimblecombe’s research, which has previously examined historical cultural treatment of air pollution in paintings, film and literature.

Brimblecombe has been involved with projects ranging from a recent European Community (EC) project NOAH’s ARK looking at climate change and heritage damage, work on the effects the environment, and artistic expression in literature, painting and cinema. Brimblecombe has worked within European Commission, EC cultural heritage projects in FP4 FP5 and FP6. He has advised the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the House of Lords on heritage science. He has had many projects funded by UK research funding bodies (e.g. NERC, EPSRC, Leverhulme Trust) and most recently the AHRC has funded a project “preparing historic collections for climate change”. He is also involved in the EC Network of Excellence ACCENT, where he is active within the teaching and communication module and is an external assessor for EPISCON, the European PhD in Conservation of Art. He is frequently involved with radio and television and radio and has produced a “scientific” colouring book for children called The Colour of Time.

Peter Brimblecombe

The Burble is a massive structure reaching up towards the sky, composed of approximately 1000 extra-large helium balloons each of which contains microcontrollers and LEDs that create spectacular patterns of light across the surface of the structure. The public, both audience and performer, come together to control this immense rippling, glowing, bustling ‘Burble’ that sways in the evening sky, in response to movements of the long articulated interactive handle bar at the base of the structure. The ephemeral experience exists at such a large scale that it is able to compete visually in an urban context with the buildings that surround it.