Using the basic pattern on the left, this installation was created by adhering over 6,000 small paper
circles, each hand drawn and approximately 0.25 to 1.25 inches in diameter,
to the walls of the project space. Moving around three large windows and climbing onto the ceiling
panels, the swarm-like formation occupied the west side of the room on the second floor
of the Hewitt Building at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin, Montana.
During the daytime, the windows provided natural light which was slightly diffused by frosted, colorless plastic curtains.
These filters enhanced the natural hue of the light entering the room at different points of the day, sometimes taking
on a warm yellow cast, at other times providing a cold green-blue tint.
At night the piece was illuminated by a bank of UV lights positioned along the floor. Though these lights were on continuously through the day, it was only
after sunset that the room became dark enough to see the effects. As the natural light faded, the small circles began to
optically vibrate,
transforming from a swarm of punctuated dots to a gathering of glowing points.
The space itself was transformed
simply and completely by the subtle evolution of the quality of light illuminating the environment.
A simple
reversal of positive and negative space changed the density of the pattern,
creating lightness where heaviness had been. The swarm became
celestial.
