Artwork Aurorae

"...Aurorae draws our attention to the shifting nature of light. By making an intervention into the volume of the existing window vitrines and their lighting, he creates a subtle animation of the façade. Using light itself as material and giving substance to the intangible, periodic changes in intensity set the building in motion, in effect suggesting something alive within." Nigel Prince, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver

The phosphorescent and fluorescent pigments are set in clear base, with each responding to the UV inputs in different ways. The phosphorescent pigments absorb UV light and re-emit the light once the source has been shut off (lamp or daylight), while the fluorescent pigments respond immediately to the source and only while it is present. The intensity of each UV lamp is turned up or down by a standard household dimmer unit controlled by a small drive motor, which is in turn controlled by a customized integrated circuit. Each circuit runs independently and randomly selects from one of eight time intervals from 1 second up/down to 32 seconds up/down. With the intensity of light in each window constantly and randomly changing, the entire facade of the gallery is set in motion, as cycles align or fall out of synch.