Images
Observatório [Observatory] (2006)
Regina Silveira
site-specific installation
adhesive vinyl, large-format print, painted wood and lightbox
ceiling: approximately 284m2
well: 90 cm (high) x 1.6 m (diameter)
Espaço Octógono, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, 2006
Poetic Parameters
Observatório is a visual ideogram where fictional images of the cosmos are interlinked with the stripped-down architecture of the Pinacoteca’s Octógono.
The installation’s visual narrative involves two spheres: a giant one stuck directly to the ceiling of the modular glass that covers the exhibition space, and a much smaller one visible only to viewers who peer into the bottom of a black well, an object/enigma built of wood and set on the white marble floor in the middle of the architectural space.
The two spheres refer to the scientific imagery of the representation of planets: the larger one is seen as a planet virtually suspended in the night sky, exactly above the well; the other is its replica, beyond the bottom of the well.
The difference in scale between the two spheres and their centralized alignment along the axis of the Octógono creates the illusion of an orifice in the well/funnel, as though it were a passage to the depth of the cosmos.
The idea of an infinite universe joined to the two spheres is evoked by blue ambient lighting emanating from the light filters in the ceiling glass, serving to activate the entire space within the architecture. In this bluish capsule, the connection of the two planets is also strengthened by the perception that the larger space (the “outer” space + the inner space) seems to engulf the smaller space (that of the funnel, in the well), as we imagine takes place within the self-devouring spaces of cosmic models of space-time, such as the Klein bottle and black holes.
The greatest poetic implication of Observatório is that the place – as well as those who peer over the edge of the well – is no longer on firm ground, but floating between the two planets, totally at drift...
Observatório continues the light-based problematics seen in previous installations by Silveira, such as Claraluz (CCBB-SP, 2003), Lumen (Palacio de Cristal, Museu Reina Sofia, Madrid, 2005) and Luz/Zul (Telemar, RJ, 2006). It also belongs to her line of installations that include the sphere as a perfect, pristine, enigmatic form that can be charged with questions concerning art and the world.
Technical description
In this installation the image of the sphere is derived from a photograph of a ball prepared digitally for presentation as two backlit images. The larger one is a circle of 7.6 m in diameter printed on adhesive vinyl and stuck directly to the glass ceiling, while the smaller one is a 30 x 30 cm lightbox placed at the bottom of the wooden well.
The backlit image on the ceiling is complemented by the application of a vinyl adhesive that serves as an intense blue light filter, stuck to the surface of the glass visible from the floor of the Octagon.
The vinyl applied to the ceiling, including the image of the planet, takes up in the area of approximately 284 square meters.
The wooden octagonal well painted satin black is 90 cm high and sits on a platform (20 cm high, also octagonal) covered with black carpet. The smaller backlit image is a light box fitted to the base of the well. The LEDs of the light box are powered by a motorcycle battery placed beside it, thus eliminating the need for any visible wiring.
Credits:
Photograph of the sphere: João Luis Musa
Vinyl printing and application: Krom Art
Carpentry: Marcelino Ros Lopez
Lighting: RCF Eventos