In conversation with Iona Scott

“In an effort to convey the importance of these creatures I put them in as many public facing places as possible…”

- Iona Scott

Image: Iona Scott with a Discosphaera Plankton Light Sculpture.

Iona Scott is a rare breed – a multimedia artist, her creativity spans technology, science and art, and her works are seen in diverse locations, as often in aquariums and scientific institutions as in galleries and festivals. 

She is well known for her Plankton Light Sculptures, originally inspired by the Discosphaera Tubifera, a type of single-celled marine micro plant – or phytoplankton. The works aim to stimulate a closer connection with the incredible tiny lifeforms, invisible to the human eye and yet responsible for producing approximately 50% of the oxygen on our planet. Through visual and sensory experiences, she also hopes to raise awareness about the importance of phytoplankton, using the plankton light sculptures and also immersive films and animations that together create a seamless and mesmerising journey from our world, through the threshold into the submarine realm.

As an artist she fuses elements of art and technology through exhibitions and collaborations in a variety of locations. Recently, her work has been shown at Make Hauser and Wirth Somerset, as part of an installation of work by her mother Rachel Scott, Soho House’s Brighton Beach House, The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, Micropia Museum at ARTIS Amsterdam Royal Zoo and Brighton Science Festival – as well as Glastonbury Festival and Burning Man. It has been on show in Pimlico underground in London as part of Art Below, and several sculptures are now on permanent display at The Deep Aquarium in Hull. 

How did you begin your journey into art? Did you grow up in a creative environment?

Yes, my family is creative but also, I was encouraged at school as I could draw and paint realistically. Everyone in my family has a very different type of artistic or creative skill and I think all of them have had a big effect on me. It’s so inspiring to see the work ethic of my parents (Rachel Scott and Frank Bowling) and to learn from them and be constantly exposed to their example throughout our lives together. To witness the consistency of both of their artistic practices is an honour and I feel very grateful and privileged to be part of their journey and to be included, supported and encouraged by them.

At what point did the subject of micro plankton become so central to your practice?

When I was studying for my degree in fine art/sculpture I was looking for subject matter. The Head of Sculpture at Norwich School of Art where I did my Fine Art Degree was an avid scuba diver and gave slide shows of the underwater world – I was very drawn to the shapes and colours of that world. In one of his books about the Great Barrier Reef, I came across an image of a Discosphaera tubifera which is a type of microscopic marine phytoplankton and I was immediately drawn to its shape. For my Degree Show I set about recreating it as a 6ft sculpture and suspended it centrally to fill a same-sized space and painted the walls with some of the vibrant tropical colours of the underwater world. Over the following years exhibiting my sculpture, I started to discover the significance of marine phytoplankton in producing approximately half the oxygen on the planet and how little this was represented in aquariums and museums. So, I started to expand on this aspect in my work by making 3D animations to make this invisible world visible and to look for places who were interested in exploring this further.

Image: Installation view from Iona Scott’s Degree Show at Norwich School of Art, Norwich, UK

What do you hope will be the effect of your Plankton Light Sculptures on those who see them?

I hope people will be surprised, excited and intrigued enough to experience the immersive aspect of my work. Perhaps they might feel more connected to nature and be curious to find out more about these incredible creatures.

And can you tell us a bit about your animations and the immersive elements in your work? What do you hope people gain from those works?

Since I completed my MA in Computer Animation and Digital Special Effects in 1998, I have been experimenting with film making, 2D animation, stereoscopic 3D animation, VR, room sized projections and projection mapping as a means to transport my audience to a total sensory experience of the otherwise invisible microscopic submarine dimension and meet the vitally important micro plants that inhabit in this space. I hope people will feel that they have had a new and positive experience that encourages them to feel reconnected on a deeper level to the natural world all around them, and are reminded that they are part of nature and from that place feel more empowered to make decisions taking that essential fact into account.

Image: Iona Scott’s Discosphaera, Radiolaria and Asterionella Plankton Light Sculptures installed at Micropia

You often place your sculptures and animations in unexpected places and situations. What excites you most about doing this?

The element of surprise and incongruity. My work is primarily visual, and I love the concept of magnifying these tiny geometric forms from another unseen dimension and enlarging and inserting them into the familiar scale of our world. In an effort to convey the importance of these creatures I put them in as many public facing places as possible and so the location and context of my artwork is ever changing. I see it as introducing a bizarre visual glitch in our otherwise predictable existence to interrupt our routine and hopefully bring some fun and uplift. I believe that art is for everyone and ideally invites us to notice art everywhere.

And a quick fire 5:

Any upcoming projects of note that you can discuss?

This year, I have a Discosphaera Plankton Light Sculpture in the Arts and Causes 2023 Charity Art Auction and I am creating visuals for a Tribal Energy event in October. Also, in November my works will be heading to Malta for the Mdina Biennale of Contemporary Art. I am very excited about all of these projects.

What have been the most rewarding moments of your career thus far?

Some of the most rewarding moments so far were being commissioned by The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew to create a stereoscopic 3D animation 'Swimming with Phytoplankton in 3D' in 2004 which was on permanent display until 2017. Also, when Micropia Museum, part of ARTIS Royal Amsterdam Zoo, purchased a discosphaera plankton light sculpture and commissioned me to make two new designs of phytoplankton 3D printed light sculptures in 2019 for the Amsterdam Festival of Light. And the permanent exhibit of my plankton light sculptures and animation ‘Deepsea Discosphaera’ which were installed at The Deep aquarium in Hull this year. I am really so grateful for all the opportunities to exhibit my work. 

Image:Iona Scott’s projection-mapping works at Lightform Lab at the Old Market, Brighton, UK

What’s the best advice you have ever received?

The four agreements: Don’t take anything personally, always do your best, be impeccable with your word, don’t make assumptions.

Who are you outside of the ‘office’?

I've recently been told I'm an undercover rocker.

What do you love about London?

The anonymity, the Tube, the river, the history, the buildings, the scale, the plethora of events and opportunities to meet new people and see and be part of amazing things, the hustle and bustle, and the multiculturalism of my hometown London.

Website: discosphaera.com

Instagram: @discosphaera