Glass Art as a Visual Translator of MRI’s Invisible Physics
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In developing the call for the residency project STEAM Imaging VI, I sought to create a space in which the abstract processes of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) could be experienced differently—not only explained or demonstrated, but practically explored, sensorially shared, and critically questioned. MRI, a radiation-free imaging technique, uses magnetic fields and precisely timed radio-frequency pulses to produce three-dimensional views of internal structures. Its underlying physics, at once abstract and invisible, became the conceptual foundation for exploring how scientific imaging might be translated into spatial and sensory experience.
A core aim of the call was to open expert tools and research practices to a wider community, bringing artists, scientists, and school students into a collaborative framework. Within this setting, participants could learn from one another, exploring distinct perspectives and questions while jointly engaging with methods and tools usually reserved for specialized research environments.
When selecting an artist for the residency, British glass artist and PhD student at the Edinburgh College of Art, Gregory Alliss, quickly stood out as a compelling fit for the project's goals and its hosts, Fraunhofer MEVIS and the Institute for Design Informatics (IDI). During his stay at Fraunhofer MEVIS, Alliss examined how the invisible processes of MRI could be translated into the physical and optical language of glass. His sensitivity to materials and concepts, combined with his dual background as a glass artist and physicist, shaped an exploration where art, physics, and perception melted together metaphorically and materially.
Within this framework, Alliss and the scientists co-led a SciArt workshop for school students, anchored in his conceptual development of glass objects and the use of specially created glass phantoms—test objects designed to mimic tissue properties in MRI. These phantoms are scanned instead of real subjects to test and fine-tune scanner performance. Students explored MRI simulations with 3D-printed models (light/sound effects), compact low-field table-tops, and 3T scanner with glass objects, independently operating diverse scanning techniques. During the workshop, I was particularly interested in how participants engaged with Alliss's artistic process and the gammaSTAR MR sequence development platform. Developed at Fraunhofer MEVIS, gammaSTAR is a vendor-neutral environment for designing and testing MRI pulse sequences, enabling users—from researchers to students—to manipulate the timing, gradients, and radio-frequency parameters that influence image contrast. Integrating this platform into the art development process and the workshop illustrated how expert imaging tools can become accessible and experimental interfaces, offering participants hands-on insight into how medical images are actually generated.
Alliss's production of negative-space glass phantoms built on his existing research into sustainable, material-based methodologies. His techniques for reclaiming and reworking contaminated waste glass, particularly from discarded Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs), advance both environmental responsibility and aesthetic innovation in contemporary glass practice. The collaboration with scientists proved crucial to this exploration; their openness and technical curiosity enabled the work while inspiring new artistic questions.
This integration of artistic and scientific inquiry reflects a growing ambition within research culture: to make scientific processes more transparent and accessible across disciplinary boundaries. By showing young learners how an artist engages with scientific tools, the project intentionally blurred distinctions between art and science, as well as between different modes of knowledge creation. This ethos resonates with broader European movements where artists collaborate with scientists and also policymakers, such as the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre SciArt programme, which, since 2018, has explored how artistic inquiry can inform innovation and policymaking. Such initiatives illustrate how sustained transdisciplinary practice contributes to cultural discourse and can even shape policies that affect society at large. In this way, the project takes part in a wider European dialogue about how creative research fosters transparency, dialogue, and transformation within 21st‑century knowledge systems.
Alliss's glass artworks visually interpret MRI by materializing its invisible dynamics into tangible, sculptural forms that echo the logic of MR scanning sequences. His recycled CRT glass objects, when immersed in water during scanning, appeared as dark voids amid bright signals—directly illustrating how radio-frequency pulses, gradient controls, and timing influence contrast and signal quality. The artist's play with negative space, internal cavities, and surface texture parallels MRI's capacity to reveal concealed structures within the human body. At the same time, the glass sculptures' translucent surfaces evoke the aesthetic and technical artefacts of MRI imaging, its distortions, noise, and delicate imperfections.
Following its development, Between Glass and Magnetic Fields now moves into Inspace as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival 2026 in April, produced with Miriam Walsh and the IDI team. The exhibition embodies the project's core ambition: to demystify abstract physics through material and sensory experience.
The resulting spatial installation showcases the sensual and exploratory potential of Gregory Alliss's distinct glass practice. I am deeply curious to see how visitors respond to his work, and how such sculptural approaches can open new, embodied ways of engaging with the invisible physics at the heart of MRI.
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