Since the passing of his father, John Croucher, in 2021 Luke Jacomb has continued to explore the history of glass science that led them to their first collaborative exhibition in 2019 - Alembics and Cucubitas: A New Glass Vernacular.
Mercurio is the evolution of the alembic series, with the heightened scale and vivid colours reflecting the emotional journey and personal growth through the grief of personal loss. Revisiting the alembics is a way to reconnect with his father, "seeing him in every piece provides a connection to past, present and future". The large-scale works were made in Seattle, the current centre for glass art in North America, during a recent visit by Luke with the help of fellow glass artist and friend Dan Friday, a Seattle native and member of the Lummi Nation, giving the works an unusual provenance. Seattle holds a special place in Luke’s heart. He lived in the city for several years, working as both a production and fine artist, and forged a group of lifelong friendships in the process.
Mercurio, Italian for Mercury, is a substance highly prized for its unusual chemical properties by Alchemists, Chemists, Scientists and Doctors, as well as being the Roman name for Hermes - who, in his form as Hermes Trismegistus, is the patron god of Alchemists.
Stemming from Egyptian and Islamic roots, the al-chymists are famous for their search for the secrets of transmutation - turning base metals, such as lead, into gold and silver, a process called chrysopoeia. The myth of the Philosopher's Stone or Egg stems from their efforts and was likely a ruby coloured glasslike substance which had the power to affect the transmutation. The apparatus to perform the repeated distillation, sublimation and melting required to make this magical substance often involved glass vessels called alembics, cucubitas, and aludels.
The creation of gold ruby glass, of which you can see examples in this exhibition, depended first on discovering how to dissolve gold using Aqua Regia (Royal Water). To that solution tin metal was added, which, when dissolved, produced Purple of Cassius - the key to introducing gold into the glass melt and having it "strike" ruby. Today’s process of creating coloured glasses using a combination of different chemicals, including gold and lead, to produce a variety of colours is no less mystical, if slightly more scientifically probable, than it was several thousand years ago.
The properties of glass retain their magical element into the modern age. It is a material that requires decades of experience to make, but is immediately usable, it can at once be unbelievably durable and incredibly fragile. It permeates our lives from the largest elements to the smallest. We use it for shelter, for protection, to travel, to see, we eat from it, we watch it, we wear it, and we admire it - from the comfort of your favourite water glass to the splendour of the Rose Window of Notre Dame it surrounds us daily.
All works are made with the assistance of Dan Friday, Kate Mitchell, Matt Hall, Simon Lewis Wards and Tara Ross.
Lending her name to a critical element of coloured glass production, Selene drives the shining chariot of the moon from the silver gates of dusk each evening.
1. Chariot of Selene, 2022 blown and hot worked glass; H465 x W585 x D355mm $12,000
Chariot of Selene
2. Courtship of Persephone, 2022 blown and hot worked glass; H860 x W330 xD130mm $12,000
Courtship of Persephone
Goddess of spring, and destruction, Persephone represents the dual nature of glass, delicate beauty wrought from fire and earth.
Helios Rides
Bursting forth from the golden gates of dawn, Helios brings the transformative power of the sun, gifting the shadow and light that gives glass its unique dimension and depth.
3. Helios Rides, 2022 Blown and hot worked glass; H725 x W480 x D195mm $12,000
Light of Nephthys
Egyptian goddess of magic, protection, and death, Nephthys brings together the spiritual elements of esoteric alchemy, informing the philosophical search for physical transmutation.
4. Light of Nephthys, 2022 Blown and hot worked glass; H645 x W560 x D185mm $12,000
5. Muse of Apollo, 2022 Blown and hot worked glass; H745 x W510 x D200mm $12,000
Muse of Apollo
Roman god of the arts, chemistry, medicine and music, Apollo embodies the colour and creative aspect of the artistic mythos.
The birthplace of Alchemy, Egypt is overseen by Ra, god of creation – interpreted here as the breath required to bring each blown element to life.
6. Ra’s Nile, 2022 Blown and hot worked glass; H540 x W730 x D200mm $12,000
Ra’s Nile
Eye of Horus
Taking the form of the rising sun, representing the first light of day, the alchemical process of turning dark lead into shining gold is personified in Horus.
7. The Eye of Horus, 2022 Blown and hot worked glass; H630 x W310 x D150mm $12,000
LUKE JACOMB
Growing up around glass pioneers in Tāmaki Makaurau it is no wonder that Luke Jacomb ‘caught the bug’. Son of one of the founders of Giovanni glass, John Croucher, Luke went off to learn from the best glass blowers around the globe. His training and encyclopedic knowledge of glass blowing enables him to manipulate various techniques for his own sculptural ends. Much of his exploration has been into the universality of pattern between the two hemispheres and can range from pared back forms to the highly ornate.
Jacomb is well established on the international glass art scene and his work can be found in important public collections including:
Birmingham Museum of Art, Al USA
Cleveland Institute of Technology, OH USA
Corning Museum of Glass, NY USA
Ebeltoft Glass Museum, Demark
Milwaukee Museum of Dec Arts (VillaTerrace), WI USA
New Orleans Museum of Art, LA USA
Works Museum, OH USA
The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, Aotearoa