This drawing installation is located on the Gorham Campus of the University of Southern Maine. It was created for the attic of the Academy Building, the oldest building on campus which still retains much of its original wooden beam construction.

Academy Building, site of attic installation

Several thousand small bits of paper were attached to the interior walls of the Academy Building's attic. Following a symmetrical pattern based on six spokes radiate from a central point, the pattern creeps along the surface of the wood, along joints and beams, respecting the natural breaks created by the strong geometry of the wooden peg construction.

Each unit was cut from simple white Bristol board paper and marked with striations using a conventional black permanent pen. Each unit, measuring about an inch wide by about three or four inches long, was tacked to the wood.

Ultraviolet lights and incandescent lights connected to dimmer were installed in the attic. The UV lights were mounted at strategic locations and incandescent bulbs, four in all, were hung at regular intervals in the space. A dimmer was wired to allow viewers to transform the space from a warm lattice-bound nest (under incandescent lights) to veiled evening greenhouse (under UV lights) by controlling the balance of UV and incandescent light.

Gorham attic, pattern detail

Gorham attic, 2004