date> 2002

medium> site-specific installation with car-lot tinsel

dimensions> room at McMaster Museum: 148.5 sq.m

description>
Parallel rows of silver car lot tinsel span McMaster Museum's largest gallery. These rows are slightly skewed in relation to the room's grid, as though the built architecture were intersecting with some more expansive spatial system. Watching the lengths of tinsel flutter overhead -- continuously below the air output ducts, just barely in other areas -- one also becomes aware of the sound of the air circulation system in operation. This tinsel is used by car dealerships to discourage birds; that is, its shimmering effect is a tool for keeping things in motion. In this case , its movement makes visible some of the building's hidden systems while also conflating the ceremonial, ecstatic, expectant character of exhibition and commercial spaces.

presentation history> 2002 McMaster

bibliography> McMaster catalogue essays by Rosemary Heather and Steve Reinke