During his visit to Herne Bay, Duchamp became fascinated by the then recently-opened Herne Bay Pavilion and Pier, the second-longest in the country at the time and one of the first to have outdoor electrical lighting; a clipped photograph of the Pavilion at night and a written note were later found in a box of the artist’s material relating to The Large Glass.

It has been suggested – and disputed – that the phrase refers to Duchamp’s supposed interest in matters alchemical, a supposition that has influenced other works here.
—Jeremy Millar
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Jeremy Millar (British, b. 1970)
The Illuminating Gas 2006

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