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 Work developed in response to the decommissioning of Wylfa nuclear power station, Anglesey - the last working Magnox reactor in the world which shut down on 30th December 2015 after generating its final spark of electricity. The reactor produced energy from the last Magnox fuel elements ever to be manufactured, now obsolete relics of the past. 

A replica fuel element illuminated from within becomes a powerful symbol of an era of nuclear energy production. Cast in a glass-like resin, it references the vitrification process used to encapsulate radioactive waste within black glass and the death of Magnox production. A blue xenon light source at the core emulates the fission gas xenon-135 present in the reactor; a cause of 'xenon poisoning' that contributed to the Chernobyl disaster. 

The work alludes to physical occurrences in the reactor and the industrial process used to contain radioactive waste. Its missile-like shape with protruding fins may also raise questions as to whether this ambiguous new form is a weapon of war - highlighting the unavoidable connection between nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

Watch a film about the making process by video maker Christopher Marsh :

Casting a replica nuclear fuel element as part of 'Power in the Land' artist project. Developed in response to the decommissioning of Wylfa nuclear power station, Anglesey - the last working Magnox reactor in the world which shut down on 30th December 2015 after generating its final spark of electricity. The reactor produced energy from the last Magnox fuel elements ever to be manufactured, now obsolete relics of the past.

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Nuclear Decay 2017

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Iron Landscape 2015