In collaboration with artist Elisa Yon, Alien Terrarium is a public Art piece part of a larger Public Art exhibition: Coastal Cities. One of the effects of living in a coastal region is that many invasive plant species enter the ecology from other parts of the world. This “invasive species terrarium” offers a theatrical panorama of local non-native plants such as English Ivy, Scotch Broom, English Holly and Himalayan Blackberry. It invites viewers to be immersed in an “alien” world and consider themes of migration and survival. Responding to the performative nature of the site, The Queen Elizabeth Theatre, theatrical lighting effects were achieved manually through choreographed movements within the studio using coloured filters and timed flashes. Individual frames were lit in sections then stitched together; sometimes creating a stained glass effect.

Alien Terrarium, 2016
Three Panel Adhesive Vinyl Wrap, 19.2 x 6 x 8.8ft
Part of Platforms Coastal City, Amanda Arcuri and Elisa Yon

Installation View: 
Queen Elizabeth Plaza, Vancouver B.C. Canada
May 2016

Alien Terrarium, 2016
Three Panel Adhesive Vinyl Wrap, 19.2 x 6 x 8.8ft
Part of Platforms Coastal City, Amanda Arcuri and Elisa Yon

Installation View: 
Queen Elizabeth Plaza, Vancouver B.C. Canada
May 2016

Alien Terrarium, 2016
Three Panel Adhesive Vinyl Wrap, 19.2 x 6 x 8.8ft
Part of Platforms Coastal City, Amanda Arcuri and Elisa Yon

Installation View: 
Queen Elizabeth Plaza, Vancouver B.C. Canada
May 2016

Alien Terrarium, Panel 01, 2016
Adhesive Vinyl Wrap, 8.8 x 19.2ft
Part of Coastal Cities, Amanda Arcuri and Elisa Yon

Alien Terrarium, Panel 02, 2016
Adhesive Vinyl Wrap, 8.8 x 6ft
Part of Coastal Cities, Amanda Arcuri and Elisa Yon

Alien Terrarium, Panel 03, 2016
Adhesive Vinyl Wrap, 8.8 x 19.2ft
Part of Coastal Cities, Amanda Arcuri and Elisa Yon

This photographic panorama breaks notions of the traditional panorama and how we picture landscape. A wide brush is lit and photographed in sections, similar to the creation of a digital, 180° panorama, however, it is displayed without the convention of digital stitching. I use directional coloured light or flashlights and projectors that blend with the natural light, veiling and illuminating the shrubs during a long exposure. The unstitched display results in an overlap of a portion of each image from one to the next, revealing inconsistent lighting in these overlaps. This inconsistency points to duration, movement, and a “straight” capture method of a staged space.

Brush in Intervals, 2015.
Six toner prints, 3 x 14 ft.

Installation View:
Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver B.C. Canada
May 2015

Evening West Dyke Trail is a panelled 360° continuous panorama created to wrap around a column under a Richmond BC Skytrain station. The work responds a local site, mixing local textures within the landscape. The piece explores the site-specific conditions of the West Dyke trail in Richmond, an important natural heritage site. I interrupt the existing landscape by introducing materials and light to mimic the birds, planes and vehicular lights we commonly see in our city. Through these staged photographs, we re-examine the out of place materials and re-look at the landscape they have been placed in. The installation allows for an encased spacious landscape within the column in contact to the concrete surroundings.

Evening West Dyke Trail: Locally Examined, 2014
Four panel light box column
74.5 x 70.5in each panel.

Installation View: 
Aberdeen Station, Richmond B.C. Canada
September 2014.
 

Evening West Dyke Trail: Locally Examined, 2014
Four panel light box column
74.5 x 70.5in each panel.

Installation View:
Aberdeen Station. Richmond B.C. Canada
September 2014.