2014
anodised aluminium, aluminium composite, acrylic aerosol pain, LEDs
210 X 515 X 110 cm
Remnants of prior existence or usage of any place remain evident just below the surface; a glimmer of what was is ever present. The history of this site and this city is intrinsically tied to the movement and temporal nature of water. Starting from this notion of water a cut pattern was devised, two layers separated by a void. The first cut from aluminium, the second painted aluminium composite panel. The pattern cut into the first layer is replicated on the second layer. As the viewer changes position in relation to the screen the two patterns interact creating the appearance of movement, reminiscent of the shimmer of light reflected from the surface of shifting water. This pattern does not intend to literally represent water instead it is attempt to allude to the fundamental characteristics of water, of flow, of current and to capture the ever changing and elusive surface reflections and refractions or glimmer of water.
The pattern employed for Glimmer follows its own simple rules and logic. There are two different triangular modules, one with 6 possible orientations and one with 2. The placement of any adjacent modules must either reflect or flow on from its neighbour. The rectangular perimeter of the panels which make up the overall scheme of glimmer dictates that 2 triangles in each vertical group of 4 are cut in half. Using these rules there are 52 various arrangements of 4 triangles possible. Combining these groups into pairs and maintaining these same rules of reflection or flow on there are 283 possible combinations. Depending on how you define a variation and what parameters constitute a module the number of variations is almost limitless.
The term Glimmer also refers to the nature of the work itself, what is present is a portion of what could be - a sample of its potential infinity. Manifesting physically a pattern first considered cognitively; the pattern hints at its theoretical possibility for infinite expansion and repetition but its reality is finite. The object offers a glimmer of its ideal potential. Glimmer also refers to the optical phenomenon employed by the work. The bottom pattern is never seen simultaneously in its entirety, at each moment only a glimmer of the pattern is ever visible through the first screen.
Commissioner - Felicity Hotels Group
Curator - Pia Robinson
Architect - Noel Robinson Architects
Fabrication - Australian Waterjet Cutting, the artist
Special Thanks to Jonathan Gregory for his assistance, patience and friendship.
