Chandelier
Claude Zervas
Brightwater
A rococo-inspired sculpture imitates the shapes and movements of primitive life forms.
While researching the design for this piece, Claude Zervas observed similarities between Brightwater’s native plantings and bacterial morphology, both of which recall baroque, rococo shapes—and ultimately inspired the classic 18th-century decorative motifs of his light-based sculpture. The wooden frames in the work are made from scraps of the recycled fir and paralam beams used throughout the Education and Community Center building. Inside each of them, computer-controlled LED lighting simulates the kinetic action of simple marine life, such as rotifers, diatoms, and algae.
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Some of those really primitive life forms have small molecular motors that cause them to move in these odd jerking movements. Every so often these things [in Chandelier] perform a small movement sequence that more or less emulates these simple marine creatures. –Claude Zervas
About the Location
Brightwater
Science, art, design, and ecology come together at Brightwater, one of the largest wastewater treatment facilities in the world. Located north of Woodinville, WA, Brightwater comprises a park, a community gathering space, an exhibition hall, and a scientific learning laboratory in addition to the structures that house technical operations. Throughout the site, integrated and portable…
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