Nomination
This project emerged from years of dialogue between Victoria Vesna and plasma physicist Dr. Walter Gekelman, an expert on Alfvén waves and builder of one of the world’s largest plasma devices. Inspired by the December 2022 fusion breakthrough, they co-taught “Art + Physics = Energy” and brought students to the National Ignition Facility to explore energy in relation to food.
Photo: Victoria Vesna
Photo: Victoria Vesna
Photo: Victoria Vesna
Photo: Haley Marks
Photo: Walter Gekelamn
Photo: Haley Marks
The connection between plasma physics and the sunflower lies in how both ignition and growth unleash energy and complexity from simple beginnings. This parallel is amplified by the Solar Maximum that began as the project premiered in 2024 and continues through 2025.
[SUN] Flower Plasma explores the ecological and geopolitical meanings of sunflowers alongside the science of Alfvén waves moving through the sun’s corona and interstellar space. The installation features a two-channel video of the Large Plasma Device, sunflower fields, bees, and microscopic sunflower cells that resemble the sun’s surface. Audiences are immersed in 8-channel sound: plasma data, NASA Parker Solar Probe recordings, and beehive sounds. The soundscape was mixed at Harvestworks NY with composer Kevin Ramsay.
Credits
Collaborators:
Artist: Victoria Vesna
Plasma physicist: Walter Gekelman
Biomedical engineer: Haley Marks
Composer: Kevin Ramsay
Production assistants: Ivana Dama, Samuel Yang, Mae Chen
With support from: NYC cultural affairs, NY Council of the Arts, Harvestworks NY, UCLA LaPD,
UCLA Art Sci collective
Biography
Victoria Vesna (US) is an artist and professor at UCLA. She explores how art, science, and technology shape identity, perception, and collective experience. Walter Gekelman (US) is a plasma physicist at UCLA and director of the Large Plasma Device. His work focuses on space plasma, Alfvén waves, and magnetic reconnection. Haley Marks (US) is a biomedical engineer at UCLA CNSI. She develops imaging tools and nano-biosensors, focusing on microscopy, optics, and translational medicine.
Kevin Ramsay (US) is a composer and sound engineer at Harvestworks NY. He creates immersive, experimental audio works using acoustic and electronic sources.