Winter Sparks turns away from the traditional understanding of the museum as a contemplative and interpretive white-cube space, and seeks to engage visitors in a journey through impressive large-scale installations exploring the connections between art and science.

Each work, in its own way, seeks to make scientific processes visible, and all of the artists reference pioneering inventor Nikola Tesla whose many experiments included electricity, x-rays and wireless communications.

Within the tradition of Tesla's curiosity, the international artists presented here share a view of making 'direct art'. They talk about the external world without creating narratives or discourses referring to storytelling. Instead, they engage with a non-representational tradition of using the materials, allowing the experience to make an impression on the spectator. It is up to us to make meaning from these direct experiences of what, in some settings, might be termed nature or magic.

Experience a light and sound show with electric sparks, interact with the dramatic charges from Tesla coils, and explore the mysteries of the Wilberforce pendulum, with work from four exciting international new media artists being seen in the UK for the first time. Winter Sparks turns away from the traditional understanding of the museum as a contemplative and interpretive white-cube space, and seeks to engage visitors in a journey through impressive large-scale installations exploring the connections between art and science.