Like the kaleidoscopes in the first gallery, this work appears non-spectacular from the outside. The square structure has four peaks, one at each corner. Visitors enter through an unassuming door and can go into any corner or to the centre of the structure.
Each of the peaks is formed by three abutting triangular mirrors with their reflective surfaces facing inwards. They function in a similar manner to the kaleidoscopes in the previous gallery, but without openings at the top. The only light in the spaces comes instead from one or more lines of light extending through the mirrors. The lines are multiplied in the reflections to conjure the illusion of spectral geometric forms hanging in the air above the visitors’ heads.
These geometric forms are all related, consisting of clusters of a single polyhedron – a rhombic dodecahedron. The twelve-sided form is stackable and space-filling, which means it can be tiled in three dimensions. Each of the corner spaces features a different arrangement of tiled rhombic dodecahedra, except for one corner, which presents the root form. Only a fragment of the pattern is physically constructed in the kaleidoscope – the full tiling is generated through reflections. The four kaleidoscopes show the rhombic dodecahedron at slightly different scales and with a different total number of units in an expanding pattern – as the scale of the units decreases, the number of units and the complexity of the pattern increases. Since each presents a tiling of varying complexity, together they form a model of growth, like the early stages of gestation.
At the centre of the pavilion is a square space with a mirror ceiling. Visitors who look upwards see themselves hanging upside down in the air some four metres (13 ft) above. Seeing oneself from this angle, at this distance, may be productively disorienting.
Artwork details | |
Title |
Rehearsal room for spatial imagination |
Year |
2024 |
Materials |
Stainless steel, aluminium, mirror foil, wood, fabric, lights, control unit |
Related | |
Solo shows |