IOSIS

Site-specific semi-permanent installation, 2024

Cellophane, water, metal, natural light

The Mill at Vicksburg, Vicksburg, MI

As an artist-in-residence with Prairie Ronde, I spent seven weeks working in a historic paper mill, which is currently being rebuilt from an abandoned post-industrial Brownfields site into a community and commercial center. I was inspired by the mill as a site of constant transformation, and I wondered how I could transform the space by harnessing and modulating its abundant natural light. I was drawn to this large room, with windows that face both due east and due west. As the light moved throughout the day, the room felt like being inside a sundial.

The color red has profound effects on our bodies. It stimulates our heartbeat and respiration, but can also be soothing. In the symbolism and philosophy of alchemy, materials are transformed from darkness into light, and specifically into red light. Iosis is the Greek word for the final stage in alchemy, in which red light symbolizes enlightenment and universal healing.

I covered the windows in layered red cello, to transform the natural light into a somatic experience of both activating the body and soothing it, inviting an awareness of one’s body as a site of constant change and transformation. I wanted to speak to the legacy of paper-making in this space, and have each window become its own collage. The red cello was photosensitive, subtly changing colors every day. In that way, the windows became photographs.