Julie Light
Blooming Sea Heart
Background and Bio
The Blooming Sea Heart - part of the Marine Museum of Lost Potential
• The Marine Museum of Lost Potential is an artwork by Julie Light based around an ongoing collaboration between Julie and researcher, taxonomist and curator, Dr Tammy Horton and her team at the National Oceanography Centre, UK.
• The Marine Museum of Lost Potential is a fictional museum dedicated to research into, the preservation of, and the occasional display of specimens of deep-sea creatures that were lost to the world before they could even be discovered. The museum supports scientific research into these lost species, determining how they lived, and their qualities, characteristics and features. It records the medical potential they possessed that was never understood, and articulates what might have been, had they survived long enough to be discovered. It also is home to the Journal of Marine Lost Potential, the fictional journal that publishes information about the Museum exhibits
• The inspiration for the Museum was Dr Horton's work on a study of fauna in an area scheduled to pilot deep-ocean mining; this study identified that at least 95% of species in the area were previously unknown to science.
• More recently the collaboration has extended to include Prof Marcel Jaspars at the Marine Centre for Biodiscovery at the University of Aberdeen, whose team isolates novel pharmaceuticals from marine sources, confirming the rich potential of ocean creatures to provide the antimicrobials, anti-dementia or anticancer drugs of the future.
• Exhibits from the Museum have been 'loaned' to various galleries to be shown as part of their exhibitions. The Blooming Sea Heart is the most recent exhibit to become part of the Museum.
• The Museum creatures are made from pate de verre (glass paste), created by forming the glass around specially made moulds which are then fired in a kiln.
Julie Light - Artist Statement
• Julie Light Julie Light is a sculptor whose creative practice delves into the intersections of body, form and hybridity, whether human or creature.
• Her work often visualises the nuances of health and disease, exploring how these concepts intertwine in both human and non-human contexts.
• Using glass as her primary sculptural medium, Julie uses her materials to communicate complex ideas to new audiences, often playfully, sometimes poignantly.
• She believes that engaging with physical objects facilitates radically different ideas and conversations to solely viewing images (whether analogue or digital), an idea borne out by neuroscience research; her aim is to make pieces that people want simultaneously to touch, to look at and to think about.
• A central element of Julie's practice is to collaborate with others, and she has created artwork with a range of scientific institutions such as The Royal Society, the National Oceanography Centre, AstraZeneca UK and the University of Leeds.
• Her science inspired projects have dealt with research as diverse as foetal biomechanics, future cancer treatments and deep ocean invertebrates.
• She also works with individuals with stories to tell. Personal stories have inspired work on cancer, memory, and insomnia.
Julie Light - Bio
• Julie Light was born and brought up in London. After a career at the BBC working in HR and Organisational Development and during which time she gained a PhD in Media, she started casting glass in 2009.
• As part of her glass training she studied 3D Craft Design at Richmond Art School and went on to complete MA in Art & Science at Central St Martins.
• Julie has exhibited her work in various settings across the UK and internationally, including in galleries, gardens, museums and hospitals.
• Julie's work has been recognised in a number of competitions, including The Glass Prize, the Charlotte Fraser Ceramics & Glass Prize, Zealous: Amplify, and the Aesthetica Art Prize. In 2021 she was awarded First Place in the international Viral Glass show at Habatat Gallery by the retired chief curator of the New York Museum of Art and Design, David McFadden. Most recently she received a Special Award for Speculative Reflection at the Social Art Award 2025 from the Institute for Art and Innovation, Berlin.
• Julie is a member of the Contemporary Glass Society and the Royal Society of Sculptors. She works from her studio at her home in Surrey.