“Apples and Atoms”, Eilis O’Connell, 2013.
This piece was commissioned in commemoration of physicist Ernest Walton, an alumnus and fellow of Trinity who, with John Cockcroft in 1932, first split the atom successfully at Cambridge. It was the scientist’s minimal and pared back approach in his own drawings which influenced O’Connell’s own design, whilst the spheres represent an integral element in Walton and Cockcroft’s scientific breakthrough. It is surrounded by apple trees which reference Walton’s private life and his interest in growing fruit trees. Appropriately situated beside the physics lab, this piece of seemingly gravity defying polished stainless steel disrupts and enlivens the arguably bleak landscape that is the east end of campus.

Photo by Stephen Moloney.