For many years Bruce Munro has recorded ideas and images in sketchbooks because he has always had an urge for reuse. His artwork is inspired by his interest in shared human experience and in result he is known for his immersive large scale light based pieces. Munro is trained in the manufacturing of light and produces intimate story-pieces as well as temporary experimental artworks.
Bruce Munro produces three main types of artwork; installations, sculptures, and commission.
Light Shower – installation
Bruce’s vision for this piece of art originated while he was in Scotland in 2008. He was sitting on the main stairs of the building absorbing the view of the snow capped mountains out ahead. When it started raining the view became distorted from the interaction between the water and windows which is when the words “light” and “shower” registered in his mind. The first public exhibition for this piece was in 2010 and since he has created different versions of the piece.
Materials: Fiber optics, Acrylic, Light source
Mettabhavana – sculpture
This piece was conceived by Munro in the late 1990s. To this day, this piece is still a conceptual piece that is one of Munro’s life goals to build for the human experience. This artwork came to Munro in a dream one night when he was staying in a beach house in Barbados. He dreamt of a building where the walls were just softly glowing of light and it was unsure where the source was coming from. He had a sense of inner peace and unity and knew this building wasn’t just for him but for everyone. This would be a nondenominational space where people would unite and could meditate. He explained it as “drawing light back into the world, both literally and spiritually”. There would be no electricity and would be lit by the daylight during the day and by beeswax candles at night.
Here is a link to a video of the artwork: https://vimeo.com/43125794
Impression: Time Crossing Culture – commission
Munro wanted this piece to reflect the museums cultural history and collections but also interact with the users. Another intent for this piece was to pull the users attention towards the welcome space in the museum. His inspiration for the piece was the overall concept of time. Each of the rings represents one of the 12 numbers on a clock while the each sphere is representative of the Earth. The fixture is also overlayed with a digital animation that casts moving images through the spheres onto the floor.
Materials: Acrylic, Light
