Light Topographies

Like entering a spatial microscope, micro topographies are revealed through a simple act of reflection. This immersive installation is grounded in direct physical phenomena, challenging the limits of our perception. Though we understand that a surface contains micro-scale events we cannot easily detect with the naked eye, when they are transcribed through reflection they seem otherworldly and alive. The installation uses light as a projectional drawing device at the scale of architecture. The light drawings are a system composed of a light source, reflector and the surface on which the drawings register. Inextricably linking the drawing to its projection. Light and sound here interact similarly to how they would at the oceanside; their correlation is too complex to follow but is readily perceived. They address the multi-modal nature of human perception. Light and sound are intertwined, serving to draw visitors into the wonder and complexity inherent in the simple, physical patterns being transcribed.

"..The banal becomes the fantastical as sheets of metal, light to the touch, reflect wonderful tapestries of light on the white walls and hanging sheets of the gallery space. Erel’s background as a licensed architect in New York and Israel provides the framework for light itself as a form of architecture. The soft and hard lines of light paintings provide a biomorphic design framework. The waveforms are exposed, enlarged and highlighted, as symphonies and crescendos are generated through a variety of interactive installations within the space."

Light and Sound Synesthesia  The Cornell Daily Sun March 16, 2017

Project Team:

Installation by: Yael Erel

Curator; Mark Morris

Light Design: Yael Erel and Avner BenNatn 

Soundscape: Torben Pastore and Pauline Oliveros' Expanded Instrument System

Photography: Yael Erel and Avner BenNatn 

Funding: Supported by Cornell School of Architecture