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Virginia Melnyk

Virginia Melnyk

Clemson, SC, US

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Inhabiting the Void

Fabric hangs soft in its draping curtain form. Like air it flows and waves with the winds.

Take an image of rocky mountain tops and blue skies; the heavy mountains weigh down the image, meanwhile the clear blue sky lifts the image into a light and airy atmosphere. Inhabiting the Void inverses this image by applying the images of the blue skies to  fabric, giving it materiality and by removing the mountains from the fabric all together, leaving a void where the solidity used to be.

A 3-D volume of the mountains formed by hanging the fabric along a series of curves expressing the gesture of the rocky formations. Spreading at the edges and tightening in the middle creating a varied density and experience.

This inverted relationship lets visitors explore the skies. From the outside of the installation the curtains appear as solid blue skies. But as you walk inside you begin to see the curtains rise and multi-layers expressed as the volumetric void of the mountains. The density of the curtains in he middle forces visitors to touch, push and interact with the fabric. A gradient through different shades of clear blue to pink sunsets as the sky transitions through the different times of day, is printed on each curtain creating a time line as you traverse from one end to the other.

Inhabiting the void is a new experience where you can wander through the skies and gather inside  in the cavity created by the volume of the voided mountains.

Competition entry for Curtains : http://soa.utexas.edu/caad/curtains/proposal.html

 
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Status: Competition Entry
Location: University of Texas Austen
My Role: Designer

 
Removing Mountains Concept
Removing Mountains Concept
Plan Diagram
Plan Diagram
Elevation 2
Elevation 2
Elevation 3
Elevation 3