Artificial Light

In 2011 Seattleites suffered an interminably wet winter followed by a particularly soggy spring, with one of the lowest ratios of sunny days in recent history.  Surrounding buildings and the recessed situation of Occidental Square barricades it from picturesque views of sunrise and sunset.  What sunlight the park receives comes from the narrow window of sky overhead.  In response to this lack of naturalsunlight, I knit an installation of vividly striped wraps for the vertical surfaces of the park in shades of bright pink, red, orange, yellow and violet.  The unusual display of color intensifies and compliments the limited sunlight that enters the park, filters through the rich canopy of trees.  

Artificial Light was a temporary installation in the newly minted guerilla style.  The installation of "tree sweaters" was timed to coincide with International Yarn Bombing Day on June 11th - a day celebrated by subversive knitters everywhere.  The extremely laborious installation process of hand sewing the wraps to the trees makes this performance art as well as visual art.  To date it has traveled to three public parks:

  • Occidental Park, Seattle - June 1-August 1, 2011
  • City Hall Park, Seattle - August 15, 2011- February 18, 2012
  • Anderson Park, Redmond - February 19-August 15, 2012