november 2026 · Harwell Campus

HALO

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HALO AT HARWELL

Step inside the extraordinary world of particle physics

This November, Harwell welcomes HALO, a large-scale immersive artwork by artist duo Semiconductor. It turns real particle collision data from CERN into light, sound and movement.

HALO comes to Harwell as part of the Light Project – a year of events celebrating the campus's 80th anniversary. Harwell has decades of expertise in designing and building particle accelerators and detectors, from instruments used at CERN to the stadium-sized machines on campus: Diamond Light Source and ISIS Neutron and Muon Source.

A collision of light, sound and science

Step inside HALO's vast cylindrical structure and become surrounded by a 360-degree projection. As patterns emerge across the screen, the same scientific data triggers 384 vertical wires, turning the installation into an immense musical instrument.

Collisions that happen in fractions of a second are slowed down, revealing movements and patterns usually hidden from view. The result is a powerful encounter with the experiments helping scientists understand the building blocks of our universe.

Learn more about Semiconductor ↗

Experience HALO

Whether you’re fascinated by science, love immersive art or simply want to experience something different, bring your curiosity and discover HALO for yourself.

Come back soon as we are still planning an exciting programme of events for different audiences.

HALO will be at Tech Foundry 3 for a limited time, alongside a programme of events, talks and activities for all ages exploring why particle physics matters to all of us.

Celebrating 80 years of Harwell Campus

Light Project

HALO is part of the Light Project, a year-long series of imaginative public events that shine a light on the ground breaking discoveries made at Harwell and the bright future ahead.

Learn more about the Light Project

About Semiconductor

Semiconductor is the UK artist duo Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt. Over twenty-five years, they have developed a critically engaged, research-led practice that explores the material nature of the physical world through the lenses of science and technology. Their multi-disciplinary works foreground the role of human perception within systems of observation, encouraging us to expand our sense of reality and question our place in the universe.

Their practice is rooted in research from within scientific institutions, including CERN; NASA; the Smithsonian Institution; Charles Darwin Research Centre, Galapagos; the UK Government Office for Science; and the Extreme Light Laboratory, University of Glasgow. These fellowships and residencies enable Semiconductor to investigate the tools, languages, and epistemologies through which science seeks to describe the universe, drawing attention to the ways in which instruments and methodologies shape not only what we know, but how we come to know it.

Credits

HALO was originally commissioned by Audemars Piguet for Art Basel 2018
Curated by Mónica Bello
In collaboration with CERN
HALO was fabricated by millimetre and Polyspace in collaboration with the artists. 

Photo/video credits:
HALO, Semiconductor, 2018. Photo credit: Kaleido Shoots 
HALO, Semiconductor, 2018. Photo credit: Claudia Marcelloni/CERN 
HALO video documentation, Art Basel, 2018