The Worlds Of If
The Worlds of If is a large-scale public artwork by artist Sara Barker, commissioned for the University of Leeds and completed in 2020. Fabricated primarily in lightweight welded aluminium, the sculpture explores ideas of temporality, lightness, and material possibility. Its iridescent painted surfaces shift in colour depending on the viewer's position, creating an experience of movement, flux, and changing perception.
Installed on the façade of the Sir William Henry Bragg Building, the work responds directly to its scientific context. Barker draws inspiration from Bragg's Law, the equation behind X-ray crystallography, and incorporates scientific symbols and structural forms that gradually reveal themselves as viewers walk around the piece. This creates a dialogue between art, physics, engineering, and the history of discovery at the University of Leeds.
Technical development of the artwork involved collaboration with engineering specialists, including finite-element analysis and physical testing to ensure structural integrity. The piece incorporates sheet, tubular, and cast aluminium with steel fixings, and was coordinated, fabricated, and installed by Sculpture & Design.
Installed on the façade of the Sir William Henry Bragg Building, the work responds directly to its scientific context. Barker draws inspiration from Bragg's Law, the equation behind X-ray crystallography, and incorporates scientific symbols and structural forms that gradually reveal themselves as viewers walk around the piece. This creates a dialogue between art, physics, engineering, and the history of discovery at the University of Leeds.
Technical development of the artwork involved collaboration with engineering specialists, including finite-element analysis and physical testing to ensure structural integrity. The piece incorporates sheet, tubular, and cast aluminium with steel fixings, and was coordinated, fabricated, and installed by Sculpture & Design.
