Atomic Light features four new films and are Blandy’s most ambitious productions to date. The works build upon his continued interest in history, the legacy of empire and the climate crisis. Two films are shot on location in Singapore and the UK, the other two created using archive and found footage.

Expanding on his Artist Residency at Towner Gallery, Eastbourne in 2022, Atomic Light includes immersive installations and associated ephemera. In Sunspot, two Observatories, one in California, one in Tokyo, both observe the same sun on the day an atomic sun was made on earth; the Hiroshima bomb that killed 100,000 people. In Soil, Sinew & Bone, using footage from Screen Archive South East, a history of war and a history of agriculture are mirrored, the fertile earth of phosphates and nitrates reflected into weapons of war.

All the tales are connected through the story of Blandy’s grandfather, a British soldier interred as a Japanese prisoner of war, who believed that the horrific atomic bombing of Hiroshima saved his life. The twinned films, The Edge of Forever and Empire of the Swamp feature the landscapes of southern England, his home, and Singapore, where he was held as a P.O.W.

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