In conjunction with the exhibition Kristin Posehn: Inverted Dome at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, the following series of fully digital studies were released online via the MAK Center email list, social media accounts, and website.
The catalog essay Socle, Scale, Sequence by Chris Fite-Wassilak concerning Digital Study #1 (Mirror Chain) and Inverted Dome can be downloaded here. The limited-edition catalog that accompanied the exhibition is available for purchase here.
Digital Study #1 (Mirror Chain)
Replacing the inverted U.S. Capitol Dome installed within the physical gallery, in this virtual world we find a length of mirrored chain that stretches from floor to ceiling.
Mirror Chain references both the concept of a blockchain first advanced by Satoshi Nakamoto in Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, and the proliferation of cryptocurrencies that have followed in its wake. One is also invited to consider the phenomena of supply chains, chains that bind, and chains that are worn in popular culture to signal wealth and status.
Digital Study #2 (Azimuth Wave)
Azimuth is a type of angular measurement. It establishes an orientation in relation to a point of interest within a spherical coordinate system. The concept is typically used in navigation, mapping, astronomy, and other disciplines.
In everyday speech, a mirror is a surface that reflects back an inverted image of its surrounding environment. Mirrors in our homes are used for self-reflection, in our cars for navigation, and throughout cities as exterior cladding for skyscrapers. More broadly, a mirror is a wave reflector — optical mirrors reflect light waves, but other types of mirrors reflect audio or even atomic waves.
Digital Study #3 (Training Phantom)
Excerpt from an interview with exhibition curator Aurora Tang:
TANG: How do you see these digital studies in relation to the physical exhibition?
POSEHN: It's been a back-and-forth evolution. As I was fabricating the sculpture, installing, and then documenting it, I was also 3D modelling the gallery. It was fascinating to be in the gallery and observe how light falls in the space at different times of day, and then go to my studio and juxtapose that with how light was being rendered in the 3D environment I was building. The conversations we've had in the gallery and responses from visitors have brought up new ideas that are filtering into the studies. It's been a way for the work to continue to unfold, respond, and reflect in real time.
Digital Study #4 (Chimera)
A chimera is an organism composed of multiple tissues with different genetic composition. In Greek mythology, a chimera is a hybrid being — part lion, goat, and snake. As an animation, Digital Study #4 (Chimera) morphs between three states in an infinite loop, reflecting an otherwise unseen backdrop all the while.
The series of digital works, catalog essays, documentation of the installation, and more will be included in a forthcoming Inverted Dome publication.