The sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of a building
4K Film with score, 1920 x 1080 HD Video, Collaborative Dance, Photograms, Ceramic Towers, Pine Bleachers
*Installation view from Vachon Gallery at Lee Center for the Arts, Seattle University, 2019
The sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of a building" was a recent project that examined how light is used as a tool of oppression in juvenile prison environments, focusing on how the state controls light to control bodies.
Inspired by a quote from the American architect Louis Kahn, the work included a 4K HD experimental film featuring a collaborative, choreographed dance with live orchestral accompaniment; large-format photogram prints; ceramic lantern sculptures; and wooden bleachers. By performing in, reflecting, and refracting light, we explored how our psychological and physical development is affected by light and darkness.
This work was exhibited in a solo exhibition as the culmination of Seattle University’s and Lee Center for the Arts, yearlong, High-Resolution Media Artists Residency. As part of the residency, I taught a class at Seattle University that traced the research of this work. Students collaborated on the experimental film, the score, the participatory dance, and photograms. I also worked with Creative Justice, an arts-based alternative to incarceration for young people in King County, Washington. The work traveled to a second solo exhibition in March of 2019 with Holding Contemporary Gallery in Portland, OR.
Photographed by Aunna Moriarty
second solo exhibition of this work at Holding Contemporary in 2019