obscurite

An original, handmade pendant designed in spring 2022. The piece was inspired by Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man where he discusses the duality of light vs dark, truth vs distortion. This piece mimics these ideas through manipulation of the moire effect: interference patterns produced when an opaque ruled pattern with transparent gaps is overlaid on another similar pattern.

The fixture itself was constructed by hand-sewing corset boning between two layers of window screen. A piece of mylar is placed at the core of the structure in order to minimize glare and to create a shadow illusion directly beneath the fixture, representing an “invisible man”. The amorphous form of the pendant was inspired by long exposure photography of dancers; the traces of human movement.

“And I love light. Perhaps you'll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form.”

obscurite

“And I love light. Perhaps you'll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form.”

- Ralph Ellison