Photo-Synthesis was an interactive light installation that aimed to bring to attention the interplay of light and reproduction in nature. Specifically flowers that use light to reflect vibrant colours to those organisms that will facilitate their pollination.
Introduction
I started to lean towards this narrative of pollination using visual queues, but I wanted to examine a way that I would be able to speak about the augmentation of this light. This is also due to the fact that I became consumed with the idea of the domestication of light that set fire to the industrial revolution. Once humans were able to create light using flowing current, there was a revolutionary change in the way we as a species led our lives. Our first departure down into this avenue began when we as a species went from opportunistic users of light/fire to controlled users. There were other very major advantages of this change, it became possible for us to cook our food, increasing our nutritional intake. It provided early humans protection from predators in the hours after sun down. But most of all, it provided us with illumination, a source of light that lets us see, in the dark. Darkness, in fact was at that age of the homo sapiens course of evolution, something that arrived at the end of the day, and left us stranded of the visible world.
We have moved rapidly after this age, managing to manufacture tools, live in communes, and provide a livelihood. Substantially, as we take a look at our world today, one of over population, and division of labour. But the only aspect that I want to examine of this modern world, is agriculture. It is one of things that no matter how many technological advancements, we will never count as obsolete. It is the only way that we know how to feed ourselves in terms of a species. In relation to light, we have managed to completely replicate and are able to grow plants on this planet that will never see the sun or the sky.
Initial Exhibit
The project consisted of one smaller installation before I did the final. The purpose of the former installation was purely investigative in nature. In order to explore the medium of coloured shadows, and how they would interact with my illustrations. The shrub portrayed in the illustrations were Callistemons (bottle brushes). The shadows were projected using a small spotlight, set behind a metal frame with a transparent screen mounted on it. On to this screen coloured acrylic squares were precisely placed, while maintaining the position of the illustration. The effect achieved was truly intriguing.
Exploration
The squares were laser cut acrylic, and I did explore other ways in which I could use projected light to create the physical form of flowers. Below are some of the examples of those explorations.
Final Exhibit
I wanted to add an interactive element to the installation that could act as a metaphor for the human intervention in the natural process of photo-synthesis. This addition came in the form of scale, I decided to increase the size of the entire installation to accommodate for a viewer to interfere between the source of light and the illustrations. Since the illustrations were only line drawings, the shadow of the observer would block the colour being projected.
Illustrations
Consisting of 4 large illustrated panels, each of a different flower:-
-Sun flowers
-Giant Alliums
-Cannas
-Fox Gloves
The illustrations were line drawing completely devoid of any colour.
Screens
In order for the projections to cover the full area of the larger illustrations, the screens used for the projections also had to be scaled for size. Once I had fabricated the larger frames for the screens, the illustrations were traced onto them using the point source. The alignment of all the screens was determined in this phase, as they had to be precisely aligned to their respective illustrations.
The space between these screens and the illustrations also provide an ideal space for viewers to interact/block the coloured shadows in the manner that I had intended.
Images from Final Exhibit
For a deeper understanding of my project feel free to refer to my documentation booklet below that consists of much more comprehensive notes on all aspects regarding myself and my project. Thank you.
