(n)arcissus is a site specific installation designed and produced by SOFTlab for NODE10. The piece hangs in the center of the stairwell at the Frankfurter Kunstverein in Frankfurt, Germany. The installation is 9 meters tall and is supported by two metal rings. One at the top of the stairwell and one attached to the lobby ceiling. The form of the piece is controlled by over 1000 custom panels and the 2 rings. The skin of the piece is made of three layers of Mylar. The shape of the panels changes from a square to an x shape based on the position of the panel in relation to the space. Two of those layers change in reverse to produce a gradated color on the outside.

The piece is meant to be seen as both an object and a spatial intervention. As a viewer enters the lobby it is unclear that the piece extends the height of the museum. It is not until the viewer enters the piece on the lobby or ascends the stairs that the extent of the piece is revealed. Both experiences are radically different due to the double skin. From the lobby the interior of the piece is reflective and produces a very narrow vertical space where the viewer is confronted with their distorted reflection produced in hundreds of changing panels. As a visitor moves up the stairs and through the galleries the piece ties the three floors together through a translucent gradated shape produced through the tension of the hanging surface.

The installation is made of over 1000 laser cut panels of Mylar and vinyl and metal snaps.

Info:
NODE10 - Forum for Digital Arts
November, 15th - 2oth 2010

Museum: Frankfurter Kunstverein.
Group Exhibit:
abstrakt Abstrakt
The Systemized World
Curated by:
Marius Watz & Eno Henze
 

Design Team: Michael Szivos, Carrie McKnelly, and Charlotte Vlerick

Installation: Brandt Graves

Photos: Marius Watz