Enlightened Structures
Stroud Valleys Artspace December 1997
The window forms a skin between interior and exterior. To a lesser or greater extent it is a membrane between the chaos of the outside world and the comfort and security of a constructed habitat. It is a controlling device, a moderator of the natural environment, the glass is both barrier and portal, letting in welcome light and warmth while keeping out the more unwelcome elements
i) Revealing Evidence
Old glass found stored and forgotten within the building was used to replace broken windows during the first months of SVA’s occupation. During this process the translucent remains of a long-empty chrysalis stuck to one piece of glass was exposed to the light of day. This and other debris from around the windows of the building have been made into slides and projected onto the backs of buildings that surround the courtyard. Images of the smallest pieces of evidence from the interior’s insignificant histories are thrown out through the windows inverting the relationship between inside and out.
ii) Inlet
A partition wall was erected across one end of the sculpture workshop creating a space devoid of natural light. A 1mm hole was drilled in this wall and a sheet of tracing paper hung in front of it. In the unlit space an image of the strip lights from the room beyond appears to hang in the air above eye level, scaled down, inverted and all but devoid of colour. It is an image of light without substance, totally dependent on the conditions within another space; It shows that reality and yet seems completely removed from the reality it represents.
iii) Sky light
By drilling holes in the stairs that lead to the top floor studio a series of images of the sky light above are formed on the floor beneath the stairs during daylight hours. This floor was put in when the stairs leading to the ground floor were moved due to their unsafe condition. By cutting a hole in this floor and positioning a mirror below an image of the sky light falls upon the wall in a window-less space. During the darkest days of the year the light of the sky is bought into darkest region of the building.