Nuclear Power Plant Building Art

Miniature nuclear power plant replicas which glow are intriguing and frightening at the same time. British Artist Kate Williams works in glass and light. Made of Uranium glass, which contains uranium prior to melting, the building replicas emit a yellow / green glow. Created using a lost wax mold, the kiln cast building replicas include ultra violet neon light box to illuminate them. The artist collaborated with John Lloyd to create a series of uranium glass sculptures of Nuclear Power Stations. These miniature building sculptures are of actual and fictional nuclear power stations including Doel in Belgium, Sizewell in Suffolk and Dounreay in Caithness, Scotland. Also included is a fictional plant from The Simpsons animated TV cartoon series. The use of uranium has been used as a safe colorant in glass since the mid-19th Century. In an artist’s statement she says, “… it suggests the vitrification of nuclear waste as a way of dealing with the nuclear legacy. They address the death of the excitement for the post-war nuclear dream and the consequent de-commissioning of these buildings and the current debate on recommissioning and renewables.”