In Visible

• Description and conceptual framework of the artwork:

In Visible is a site-specific installation grounded in the artistic examination of objects, sculptural systems, light phenomena, and audiovisual interventions. It extends a long-term inquiry into the limits of sculpture as a medium by foregrounding the reciprocal action of materials, light, sound, and architecture within the specific contexts in which the work unfolds.

The project draws on the historical lineage of solar tracking, timekeeping devices, and architectural constructions—particularly the tradition of light-based clocks and calendars found in small pre-Romanesque churches—while simultaneously engaging contemporary architectural and artistic practices. Its point of departure is the everyday phenomenon of sunlight entering through apertures in built structures. These subtle projections of daylight, which appear routinely on interior surfaces, shift in intensity and visibility depending on the season, date, and time of day.

The installation redirects the viewer’s attention toward light and shadow—toward elements that habitually escape perception and whose aesthetic potential is often overlooked. In an overstimulated visual culture, In Visible introduces a refined spatial articulation that reframes these “ordinary,” fleeting phenomena as events of heightened perceptual and aesthetic value.

Through a technically complex yet deliberately unobtrusive mechanism, the installation reveals the thin threshold between sunlight and architectural space. It intervenes precisely at the moment natural light enters an interior, intensifying the presence of these inherently transient light events.

By alternately filling and emptying the gap between two glass panels with water, the installation transforms the incoming projection of sunlight into a dynamic, time-based image. The moving boundary of the water level becomes legible as a shifting luminous line, turning what would otherwise appear as a static illumination into a perceptible, animated projection.

The continual deformation of the glass panels—convex when filled with water and returning to their original form as they empty—produces an optical magnification effect. In this process, the cast shadows bend and distort: straight edges curve, and the projected geometry becomes unstable. This silent animation stages a visual dialogue between the “real” solar projection and its “constructed” counterpart, created through the intervention in the natural process.

By mediating the entry of daylight into interior space, In Visible accentuates the poetics embedded in the relationship between natural light and architecture. The resulting phenomenon operates as an ephemeral, site-specific film unfolding in real time, its form entirely dictated by atmospheric conditions. Each day yields a unique manifestation; no two projections repeat.

The work also reflects on the role of art and artistic production amid ecological crises and climate instability. It introduces an element of self-critique, questioning the necessity and material impact of art-making in an era of hyperproduction. Essential to the piece are variability, impermanence, temporality, unpredictability, and complete dependence on weather conditions. The viewer must accept an active temporal engagement: patience, extended focus, and the possibility that the experience—conditioned solely by sunlight—may not occur at a desired moment.

• Technical description of the artwork:

The installation comprises a stainless-steel support structure and a frame housing double-layered glass panels (12 mm each; dimensions variable depending on site), separated by a 10 mm cavity. It includes a reservoir containing deionized water mixed with glycol and a bidirectional pump controlled by a PLC system.

Water is periodically pumped into and out of the interstitial space between the panels while direct sunlight passes through all layers. The water volume changes at alternating speeds, governed by the bidirectional pump, a system of hoses, electromagnetic valves, and a pressure sensor coordinated by the PLC computer.

The frame is mounted on the exterior side of architectural openings—windows, doors—positioned precisely between the Sun and the interior surfaces onto which the light and shadows are projected. The projections occur in their “natural” positions, as they would without the installation, ensuring that the technical apparatus remains invisible from the interior. Sites with longer daily sun exposure are preferred.

Due to the temporal sensitivity and visual subtlety of the work, the installation must remain nearly imperceptible within its environment, mirroring the discreet nature of the phenomenon it amplifies. As a result, its dimensions and several technical components are adapted for each location, determined by the architectural conditions and the specific form the work ultimately assumes.