Ceil

January 2011

The project Ceil placed a laser (approximately 10 ft above the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis) that continuously swept across a horizontal plane over the Mississippi River. The effect provided an invisible canopy across the space. Its only consistently perceptible clue was the horizontal line drawn across the urban edifices and park trees where the laser touched. The only time the canopy (or ceiling) became apparent was when particulates passed through the laser. This occurred frequently or infrequently depending on occurrences of natural phenomena (spray, fog, dust) or infrastructural residues (steam from power plants, sewers) or provided by individuals (smokers, hot breath or strategically placed fog machines). Ceil simultaneously invokes its namesake verb (to cover with a ceiling), the computational function, ceil() which rounds an integer towards positive infinity, a dyslexic spelling of the French word ciel, or sky, and its close or rather closed homonym, to seal. The project oscillating between being visible and invisible, a hyper real rendition or a dystopic version of the sky above, an impenetrable shield or inhibiting barrier. In exploiting the hide and seek nature of a laser beam, Ceil plays with the public's perceptions of invisible forces (both real and artificial), understandings of natural phenomena, projections of fictional aspirations, and interactions with mediating technologies.

Material: Laser, Plastics, Electronics, Motors

Dimensions: Variable

Exhibitions: 2011, Northern Spark, Minneapolis, MN