Shadow Canopy
My final semester assignment for “Borrowing Light” was to pick a location somewhere on north campus, and build an intervention/installation that reflected the already existing light quality in that space.
My site was a pathway located between two parking lots: the blue lot behind the Space Research Building, and the connecting orange lot. The path is rough concrete and it weaves through the woods. On a bright, sunny day, the light passes through the foliage in a specked pattern on the path- or in the winter, the sun casts long shadows from the bare branches. At night, a row of lamps arranged along the path lights the way. I chose this as a potential site because it’s an often used path, but removed from any sculptural works found in the more central and populated region of campus.
There is already a specific light quality in the space, which I could choose to emphasize or draw attention to. I suspect the light is almost never appreciated, however, because the path is most often used by people arriving for work in the morning or leaving work at day’s end.
Placing a canopy above the path catches the shadows of the trees and branches, creating a “shadow screen” overhead. My hope was for the installation to draw attention to these shadows, which otherwise generally go unnoticed.
In addition to creating a shadow-screen, I wanted to both convey and toy with the quality of light as it shines through and between leaves in a natural forest canopy. To achieve this, I laser cut a series of acrylic leaves, wove them into a thin net, and suspended them a few inches above the cloth. Light passing through these leaves created familiar and yet surreal shadows spaced among the natural branch shadows. Additionally, the canopy was supported by a branch-like metal structure sewed into the fabric, which then in turn was fastened to four surrounding tree trunks. In this way, the structure was a continuation of the trees reaching out over the path.
Below are stitched photographs showing the canopy-as-shadow-screen. Enjoy!
