John Gerrard 'Solar Pavilion / Flag'

Featuring the rivers Amazon, Danube, Nile and Yangtze, each computer simulation introduces a portrait of a small section of each river, integrating the buildings and flora on the riverbanks as visible reflections. At the centre of the scene is a gasoline spill – accurately refracting the light to create a vivid prismatic field, endlessly changing shape over time.

The roll of the river creates a flag–like form, which the artist sees as a precise political representation of contemporary conditions. As is typical with Gerrard’s work, the scenes are non durational, instead they are rendered live to unfold over the course of an annual solar cycle, with each Flag keyed to its particular local time.

Co–commissioned by Galway International Arts Festival, Thomas Dane Gallery, London and Simon Preston Gallery, New York.