Making Celestial Bodies

The Celestial Bodies series examines how colored light changes as it moves over a spherical surface that gradually prevents it from shining into a surface.

The white sphere is lit using a primary light source so as to cast a shadow and have a side completely unlit. A secondary light source creates a strong and contrasting highlight that picks the edge of the sphere out of the shadow, but does not bleed into the gradient of color fading to black. The edge highlight is created in such a way so as to prevent the light from reflecting into the cast shadow, as well as keep off the background. The highlight becomes an impossibility to the average viewer.

The spherical form was incepted as an entirely different creation that explored color mixing and shadows over a curved surface. The colors created proved to be impossible for a printer to accurately render and as such, the idea remains as a light sculpture.

Wanting to keep the form of the sphere, I continued to play around with different ways to light the sculpture. I spent several months thinking about how different spherical objects are used and lit and examining how light traveled over the surface of the curved sculpture. Eventually, I thought beyond the immediacy of an object and realized that the light breaking out from behind an eclipsing celestial body was the perfect quality and emotion I wanted to add to the sculpture.

In creating such a variety of colors, I am allowing collectors to have agency in creating their own art installation. The Celestial Bodies want to be hung together, but it is the collectors job to curate and explore the colors and impact of the final installation.

By hanging multiples together, the minute differences - how a light was focused or how the sculpture was moved or adjusted throughout the documenting session - are able to be discovered. Together they tell the story of how light creates color and how form influences light.