Bit by bit, Tobin Smith began to use his skill set
to photograph gems in his spare time. ‘I realised that,
technically, shooting gem stones is a difficult thing
to do. I did those early shots in a haphazard way; I just
bolted an old microscope to this weird old large-format
camera. It kind of worked, but it felt very basic.’
The photographer recalls watching the gems come
to life as they moved through light, picking up minute
details of the inclusions and projecting them on the
walls of his studio. He mounted a specialist Leica-
designed microscope to an Arri Mini digital camera.
‘I realised no one else had done this before, that I was
developing a unique way of looking at these objects.
Some of the inclusions are pretty abstract, but when
you move them, you get so much more information out
of them. You’re understanding parallax – what things
are behind or in front, the texture and the surfaces.’
Keen to take things up another level, he worked
with special effects company Asylum to build a rig that
would enable him to move gems through light. They
found a way to suspend a gem in a clear chemical before
building a rotational and linear motor that allowed the
gem to move and rotate smoothly through the liquid.
‘It enabled me to explore what these objects truly are
by highlighting and exploiting the different properties
of their inclusions. It’s like entering a parallel world.’
Tobin Smith’s work came to the attention of
The Experience Machine, specialisers in site-specific
performances. They, in turn, involved Gemfields,
the operator and 75 per cent owner of both the Kagem
emerald mine in Zambia and Montepuez ruby mine in
Mozambique (Gemfields is one of the industry leaders
navigating the complex shift to more responsible and
sustainable gem-mining). Gemfields’ gemologist Elena
Basaglia explains the attraction of collaborating with
Tobin Smith: ‘Having worked together over the years,
we were aware of Dan’s energy and passion for coloured
gemstones, making him an ideal partner to share the
fascinating world hidden inside each gemstone.’
Showcasing Tobin Smith’s groundbreaking
photography, the Collins Theatre will exhibit
projections of Mozambican rubies and Zambian
emeralds from Gemfields’ mines. The result is a galaxy-
like light performance that will meld and shift across
the theatre’s walls like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope.
‘I feel like I’m scratching the surface,’ Tobin Smith
says. ‘The inclusions are so varied. It’s bewildering.
You’re given a tiny glimpse into how the world was
formed that we could never otherwise comprehend. It’s
a constant discovery of these tiny, unknown worlds.’ ∂
Void is on from 14-22 September at Collins Theatre,
11 Islington Green, London N1, dantobinsmith.com;
gemfields.com; londondesignfestival.com
RIGHT, RUTILE NEEDLES IN
QUARTZ, CABOCHON CUT
BELOW, GEMFIELDS
MOZAMBICAN RUBY,
CUSHION CUT
∑
Photography
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