HeavyLight @ OPEN EYE GALLERY ATRIUM SPACE
29 November - 18 December 2022
Lens swarf, fragmented demo lenses, Corten steel, concrete, biodegradable resin and LED lighting. “HeavyLight is a sculpture with purpose, poise and an undeniably spiritual significance. It’s an admission of guilt, a symbol of hope and a statement of provocation too” – David Young, Marketing Lead at Millmead.
In January 2022, Millmead Optical Group, based in Maghull, Liverpool chose to shine a light on the environmental challenges created by the global Optical Manufacturing Industry.
The stark reality is that over 3000 tonnes of optical lens waste ends up in landfill every year in the UK alone. Millmead Optical group has chosen to make a candid admission about its own small contribution to that unedifying figure. The lens waste is generated due to currently unavoidable inefficiencies in the manufacturing process, combined with the inherent complexity of recycling the plastics from which optical lenses are produced.
Millmead Optical Group chose to engage Designer Yair Neuman whose work includes sustainable material innovation in optics to create a sculpture made from discarded demo lenses and the waste products (Swarf) resulting from the production of optical lenses in their Liverpool factory.
Children offer a unique symbol of hope – the hope that our future generation can find solutions to reverse the impact of climate change and environmental degradation. The sculpture’s use of a locally-produced steel plinth lends an industrial context to the child’s pose as she reaches down towards the earth.
Millmead Optical Group & Yair Neuman
December 2022
Lens swarf, fragmented demo lenses, Corten steel, concrete, biodegradable resin and LED lighting. “HeavyLight is a sculpture with purpose, poise and an undeniably spiritual significance. It’s an admission of guilt, a symbol of hope and a statement of provocation too” – David Young, Marketing Lead at Millmead.
In January 2022, Millmead Optical Group, based in Maghull, Liverpool chose to shine a light on the environmental challenges created by the global Optical Manufacturing Industry.
The stark reality is that over 3000 tonnes of optical lens waste ends up in landfill every year in the UK alone. Millmead Optical group has chosen to make a candid admission about its own small contribution to that unedifying figure. The lens waste is generated due to currently unavoidable inefficiencies in the manufacturing process, combined with the inherent complexity of recycling the plastics from which optical lenses are produced.
Millmead Optical Group chose to engage Designer Yair Neuman whose work includes sustainable material innovation in optics to create a sculpture made from discarded demo lenses and the waste products (Swarf) resulting from the production of optical lenses in their Liverpool factory.
Children offer a unique symbol of hope – the hope that our future generation can find solutions to reverse the impact of climate change and environmental degradation. The sculpture’s use of a locally-produced steel plinth lends an industrial context to the child’s pose as she reaches down towards the earth.
Millmead Optical Group & Yair Neuman
December 2022
