KARLA NIXON

2023

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Speir wine Farm, R310 Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa​

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This site specific installation was commissioned by Spier, for their annual Spier Light Art exhibition, of outdoor sculptures. ​

The Piece has multiple levels of inspiration and exploration. Part of it, specifically the physical installation as a draped, soft, fabric like form, was inspired by my and what I believe most peoples relationship with textiles, whether in a wearable or functional form. It’s a human condition to seek security and comfort. Textiles surprisingly or not play a large role in achieving a sense of security, whether it’s snuggling in a warm duvet when you are cold or sad, putting on an item of clothing that makes you feel powerful, beautiful, or safe. Dressing our homes in curtains, rugs, throws, pillows etc. as a means of nesting, creating a safe space that turns a house into ‘your’ home. It was these concepts that drove the fabric like installation. The choice of allowing the work to float or hover overhead, is to hopefully create a canopy, alluding to again a safe “protected’ space that invites the viewer in. This idea is reiterated by the transparent Plexiglass creating a stain glass, cathedral like sanctuary. Once under the floating fabric like canopy the piece ‘ dresses’ you in colour and light. Which hopefully brings a sense of wonder and joy.

 

As this is a light art piece and because the visceral experience of colour is an important part of my art making process, the other or rather a parallel part of this work is inspired by the idea of light and colour. How light is colour and also creates colour. The concept in itself is kaleidoscopic and has a circularity, which I find fascinating. My attempt to play on this idea was through the use of multiple coloured transparent plexiglass. In order for us to see colour we need light. In order for us to see a specific colour a specific wavelength of light is reflected back to our eyes. Because the piece is made from transparent plexiglass, when lit in a specific way, either by the sun or by LED lighting, the colour will be transposed away from the original source(the plexiglass) and thrown to the nearest surface, creating a perfect colour reflection, duplicating a transient, nonmaterial colour rectangle. The piece in itself and our experience of it will look different throughout the day and at night, depending on what is happening with the light, clouds, weather etc. Which reflects our natural experience with colour, and how the same colour can shift and change creating entirely different emotions/reactions and experiences.