Window, Not

(dedicated to Howard Arkley) 

October 1999

 

This window emits broad spectrum light in an attempt to emulate daylight. Like a real window it changes with the fluctuating light of the day, giving an artificial impression of the world outside, using light as a medium.

Produced with the assistance of the UNSW Solar Research Centre, this work involved the construction of an electronic system that monitored light incident on a small solar panel (placed in a window on the same side of the building as the artificial window).

Connected electronically, this input was used to control a large bank of daylight balanced tubes within the work.

A video of the window operating in an office (filmed in stop motion over 8 hours) is projected next to the operating window. This video reduces 8 hours of window operation to a 3 minute repeated cycle of video footage, and balances the calm of the window's operation with a small, manic presentation. This presentation is projected next to the work, where the label normally sits.