This two-part installation explores a surprising phenomenon that arises when certain types of plastic are viewed through polarising filters. Best known for their use in reducing glare in photography, polarising filters allow light waves of a specific orientation (or polarity) to pass through while blocking all other waves. Some plastics, in turn, exhibit a quality known as birefringence. They split light waves into multiple rays that move at slightly different angles and speeds. When the two materials are combined, the transparent plastic appears colourful through the polarising filters. The colours change as the materials move in relationship to one another or the viewer’s position shifts. 

The two ‘perspectives’ referred to in the title are set up around a central, circular lightbox that projects polarised light in two directions. On either side of the lightbox there is an element made out of transparent plastic suspended between the lightbox and a circular polarising filter that acts as a viewfinder through which the visual phenomenon can be observed. A single polyhedron – a hexagonal bipyramid – rotates on the one side, while on the other, two discs revolve about their axes, sometimes aligning with one another and sometimes overlapping. As the elements move, the relationship between the two materials shifts constantly, causing the shimmering colours to change as well. In addition to the elements of the artwork that are in motion, the viewers’ own movements and changing perspectives add further diversity to the experience.