Parallax

Artist: Benjamin Jay Shand (Australia)

Collaborator: Nicolas Locane (Australia)

Parallax is inspired by the qualities of stalactites cladding the upper limits of a cave ceiling. In nature, these geological formations are created by the precipitation of minerals present in water as they drip through caverns. Benjamin Jay Shand reinterprets these vertical formations by suspending translucent linear elements from a gridded lattice of engineered steel. As they hang from the canopy above, a very slight horizontal movement complements the strong vertical elements of the sculpture. Each ‘stalactite’ also glows with an illuminated pulse.

The diffused glow of the lighting is achieved by custom tooling of the plastic material used to form each extrusion. Light sources are embedded in channels to mask their appearance and provide a seamless glow that interacts with the refractive and reflective properties of the material. The work relies upon basic optical distortion technology — resembling a parallax effect — as the form and its density appears to shift constantly according to the unique perspective of the viewer.

A void at the centre of the sculpture contributes to its dynamism by creating opportunities for an immersive, human-scale experience: participants interact with the sculpture as programs shift to modulate luminosity in line with audience engagement and interaction and to limit output when pedestrian traffic slows.

Country represented by installation: Australia