Recall is the third project of The House Phase Installation Series.  These site-specific installations are based on the artist's parents’ hand-built adobe home in northern China. The installations take on a simple one-room-house structure, and are built using a wide range of materials, from traditional adobe bricks (see The Little House Stands On the Prairie), to delicate 8-foot-long wax drips.

Recall was made from approximately 600 hand-made Paraffin wax drips. These delicate wax drips measure 5 to 8 feet in length, and shatter easily to a light touch . Suspended in the center of the space, the installation echoes the angle of the rafters and the roof of the barn. Sun light falls through the gaps in the roof, and projects hundreds of light circles, which glide across the space and the house structure throughout the day. The house form speaks of a familiar domestic space, though the fragility of the material calls for uncertainty within the viewer about what a house stands for; shelter, protection and home.

The 1900’s cattle barn at the Djerassi Foundation that hosted the installation, Woodside, CA

Shattered Paraffin drips, Recall de-instalation

photo by Frank Foreman

In the rural Chinese dwellings, people typically use a single light bulb to light the entire house. Recall (Shadow) was a second iteration of the installation at GalleryOne, using a single light bulb in the center of the piece. Dramatic strips of shadow sway on both the floor and the surrounding walls. As the viewer enter the piece, his/her shadow affects the lighting and dimming of the space, and become part of the installation.

Recall (shadow) at WCC GalleryOne