BEACON
Beacon was built for the 4th Biennale de Montréal in 2004. It was conceived as a tool of attraction to induce visitors to appropriate a space rarely used in the autumn; the elevated plaza of Montréal’s Place des Arts.
It took the form of a narrow triangular tower placed between rue Ste-Cathérine and the plaza.
It was built of amber, semi-reflective glass panels and a delicate stainless steel structure. It recalled the coloured reflective glass business towers of International “Late Modernism” - in effect employing its discredited material strategies to ironically animate public space.
The installation underwent dramatic transformations from morning to dusk. When sunlight was cast directly upon its reflective surfaces, it mirrored the city, its inhabitants and the sky. Otherwise, it grew translucent.
The combination of these characteristics created a condition where the life and buildings of Montréal were gathered via reflection onto the work. In a sense, Beacon became a condensed version of the city.
From the inside, the work provided amber tinted views opening on to rue Ste-Cathérine, Place des arts and beyond. Looking up, the tunnel like interior framed the sky. Our experiential understanding of this framing was rendered perceptually disorienting via the multiple kaleidoscope-like reflections of the installation’s structure.
