Understanding the Intersection of Art and Multispectral Research
Investigate the evolving relationship between environmental data and human experience through the lens of contemporary art. At the University of Sussex, UK, the boundaries between scientific inquiry and artistic expression frequently overlap, creating unique opportunities for public engagement with complex research. The Sussex Digital Humanities Lab (SHL Digital), known colloquially as The Lab, serves as a primary hub for this interdisciplinary work, fostering projects that challenge conventional methods of data collection and visualization.
Multispectral research, which involves capturing light data across wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum, is typically confined to remote sensing, astronomy, or materials science. Applying this methodology to the domestic interior represents a significant methodological shift. By turning private homes into decentralized observation nodes, researchers can gather highly granular environmental data that reflects the actual living conditions and temporal rhythms of diverse populations. This approach bridges the gap between macro-level planetary science and micro-level everyday life.
The upcoming presentation of Domestic Light exemplifies how the University of Sussex supports innovative research that communicates complex ideas to a broad audience. By framing rigorous data collection as an immersive art installation, the project invites viewers to parse large-scale datasets through sensory experience rather than statistical analysis.
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What Defines the Domestic Light Project?
Examine the core mechanics of Domestic Light, an ongoing international art-and-research initiative conceptualized by multimedia artist and researcher Ian Winters. The project investigates the fundamental relationship between light, home, time, and human perception. Rather than treating light as a static aesthetic element, Winters approaches it as a continuous, measurable phenomenon that shapes and is shaped by the spaces we inhabit.
Since the summer solstice on June 21, 2023, a distributed global network of collaborators has participated in this study by hosting custom-built multispectral sensors on their domestic windowsills. These devices are not standard cameras; they are specialized instruments designed to continuously record the precise color and intensity of both interior and exterior light. Crucially, they gather spectral information that exists entirely outside the standard RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color space used by commercial screens and digital projectors, capturing data from the near-infrared (IR) to the near-ultraviolet (UV) ranges.
Recording this data every five seconds generates an incredibly dense temporal archive. Standard photography captures a fraction of a second; Domestic Light captures the continuous, fluctuating stream of photons as they interact with weather patterns, passing clouds, seasonal shifts, and human-made objects like blinds, curtains, and reflective surfaces. This sustained observation creates a detailed portrait of specific locations over an extended period, documenting changes that are imperceptible to the human eye but deeply impactful on our circadian rhythms and psychological well-being.
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Building a Planetary-Scale Dataset from Everyday Spaces
Consider the logistical and technical achievements required to maintain a decentralized sensor network across more than 70 global locations. The primary two-year data collection phase of Domestic Light recently concluded, yielding a dataset that is both idiosyncratic and planetary in scale. Unlike controlled laboratory experiments, this data is inherently messy, reflecting the genuine hazards and happenstance of daily life.
Collaborators in the network move residences, resulting in sensors being transported across cities or countries. Wi-Fi networks fail, sensor contacts degrade, packages are delayed, and power supplies are temporarily lost. In some instances, sensors located in conflict zones have recorded the abrupt, catastrophic changes in light caused by electrical infrastructure damage. All these interruptions and reconnections leave distinct, latent traces in the intensity data.
This friction between the intended precision of the scientific method and the unpredictable reality of human life is precisely what makes the Domestic Light dataset valuable for multispectral research. The data does not represent an idealized version of the world; it represents the world as it is actually experienced. By analyzing these gaps, spikes, and anomalies, researchers can study not only the behavior of light but the sociological and geopolitical factors that interrupt or alter the domestic environment. The dataset functions as an accidental diary of its hosts, written entirely in the language of electromagnetic radiation.
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Experiencing the Domestic Light Art Installation
Transitioning from a purely data-gathering phase to a public exhibition requires translating numbers into a physical medium. The Domestic Light art installation achieves this by utilizing 24 custom-built multispectral LED light and sound modules. These modules do not simply display colors; they accurately reproduce the specific spectral signatures captured by the global sensor network over the past two years.
Visitors to The Lab at the University of Sussex will encounter these modules arranged as an immersive, open sphere. This spatial configuration is critical to the experience. As the installation animates, it geolocates the spectral record, effectively mapping time and geography onto the physical space of the room. A viewer standing inside the sphere experiences the light fading and rising as it did across different longitudes and time zones during the project’s lifespan. The accompanying sonic traces—derived from the data fluctuations—provide an auditory context that reinforces the visual passage of time and the geographic distance between the sensor nodes.
This exhibition format allows the public to engage directly with multispectral research without requiring specialized technical knowledge. The installation acts as a proxy for the planet, compressing two years of global light data into a navigable, spatial experience. It highlights the stark differences in light quality between a humid equatorial window and a high-latitude winter afternoon, differences that are often lost in standard visual media but are preserved in the multispectral dataset.
Engage with the Artist and Research Process
Attendees have multiple opportunities to interact with Ian Winters and the Domestic Light project before and during the official exhibition dates. Understanding the creative process behind data-driven art provides essential context for appreciating the final installation.
Leading up to the main event, Winters will host Residency Open Days in The Lab every Friday from May 15 to June 12, running from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. These drop-in sessions offer a behind-the-scenes look at the technical assembly of the installation and the daily realities of managing a global sensor network. Visitors can ask direct questions about the hardware, the data processing pipeline, and the conceptual framework of the project without the formality of a structured lecture.
The culmination of the public programming is the performance-installation and artist talk scheduled for Thursday, June 18, at 2:00 PM. This event bridges the gap between the passive observation of the exhibition and active academic discourse. Winters will present the research methodologies, discuss the challenges of working with planetary-scale datasets, and explain the algorithms used to translate raw spectral data into the LED and sonic outputs. The session includes a Q&A segment, providing a platform for rigorous discussion about the intersection of digital humanities, environmental sensing, and contemporary art.
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The Significance of Digital Humanities at Sussex
Contextualize Domestic Light within the broader mission of the Sussex Digital Humanities Lab. SHL Digital consistently supports projects that utilize computational methods to address humanistic questions. The lab provides the infrastructure, funding, and collaborative environment necessary for researchers like Winters to execute ambitious, long-term projects that fall outside traditional departmental boundaries.
The presentation of Domestic Light serves as the centerpiece for SHL Week 2026, an annual program designed to showcase the diverse output of the lab’s community. SHL Week highlights the value of interdisciplinary research, demonstrating how tools from computer science, data visualization, and engineering can be repurposed to explore cultural, historical, and perceptual phenomena. By hosting this event, the University of Sussex reinforces its reputation as a UK institution that takes creative, practice-based research seriously, evaluating it not just on its artistic merits but on its ability to generate new knowledge.
For students and researchers considering where to pursue interdisciplinary work, the infrastructure displayed during SHL Week is highly relevant. Access to specialized facilities like The Lab in Silverstone Level 2, combined with a culture that supports international collaboration, creates a distinct environment for advanced study. The success of a project like Domestic Light demonstrates that the university is equipped to handle the logistical demands of global data collection and the technical requirements of large-scale immersive installation.
The Domestic Light exhibition runs from June 16 to June 19, open daily from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at The Lab in Silverstone Level 2, opposite SB211 on the University of Sussex Falmer Campus. The event is free and open to the public, though registration is required for the artist talk on June 18 due to limited capacity.
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