Wind Veil, In Progress
Brentwood Town Centre, Burnaby, British Columbia,Wind Veil brings to our attention the universal patterns that surround us: how light and wind interact constantly with surfaces and animate our world with a delicate wonder. Crucial to the concept is to have an ever-changing experience inside and outside the building both during the day and night. Depending on the angles of the sunlight or artificial lights and the position of the viewer, the sky is reflected in the areas of the glass that are not laser etched. The image is an abstraction of points of light on water. It was transformed from video footage of the moving surface of water where lights were reflected. The focus was changed so that the digital translation is one of perfect overlapping circles of different densities. It is similar to what we see if we half close our eyes. Our mind makes sense of this very abstract pattern because it has registered this arrangement of light points unconsciously over countless times of seeing light on water. Yet this image also refers to a universal visual language of the natural world that suggests different things to different people. The lines of cable on which are mounted dichroic glass ‘flags’ that turn in the wind interact with the glass façade and its reflective blue and laser etched surface. Projected color, reflected glints of light and shadows all are part of the ‘veil’ through which the surface of the glass is seen so a subtle and delicate dance of light and wind plays each day. In my public art installations one of the most frequent comments is that people want to stand and watch how the works change; it is a moment of meditation, a slowing down in their day.
