Wax on plexiglas, illuminated from in front and behind, triggered by a sensor. Simultaneously a painting, electronic art, and time-art.

I discovered/invented a way of painting with translucent wax such that I could layer one image on top of another — one appears when the painting is front-lit, and the other when the painting is backlit. Triggered by a sensor, the viewer’s engagement reveals another perspective, the depth beneath the surface, a hidden world. Additionally, the wax appears as a very tactile, material object. But when the light rises from behind, the solidity dissolves and an illuminated world is revealed, providing a full-body bridge between the analog and digital worlds.

These have been presented as installations along a wall, free-standing structures, and recently — wall-art with a lightbox.

Interactive Paintings

My interactive paintings are multi-layered translucent images painted in wax on glass that change with light. Whether lit with natural light such as the changing time of day in a room or LEDs using sensors to respond to the viewer's movement, these objects are never just one thing. 

By layering paintings and managing the transparency of the pigments, I am able to structure objects that reveal completely different images depending on whether the light reflects off the surface of the painting or shines through it. In this way, I can combine two or three images on a single surface. Adding complexity are the variables of interactivity and varieties of light. By adding dynamic lights controlled by the movement of the viewer, I am able to reveal only parts of the images at a time. Similarly, adding a delay in a sensor means one person may trigger a light, but the person walking behind them is the one who sees it. 

For the viewer, this creates a kind of on-demand theatrical experience, where the dynamics of the interaction and the technology add to the content. There are the images, the light, the interactivity, and the audience — all affecting the others.

The result is a highly complex experience where the object resists definition. This medium allows me to explore complex representations of identity and interpretation — where a single image has alternate histories and versions depending on the context and approach of the viewer and/or the light.  When a viewer interacts with an object with more than one state, which version of the object is true? How does our own behavior affect what we see and presume to know? How do our choices affect others' experiences? How can I convey the contradictions inherent in a single person, or image, or story?