Ship and Dock/Nights and Days or The Gazer marks the first time I incorporated video projection into my work. It is also the first time I married my three-dimensional installation work with my paintings on paper. The gouaches provided the imagery for the video projections. Inspired by sights seen on trips to Lake Superior, I wanted the work seen in a darkened gallery to place the viewer under a night sky, looking up at what appears to be part of a giant ore dock, a familiar sight on the lake. Perched within the structure of columns, beams, ramps, and stairways sit two small houses. One house faces the viewer; the other faces away. This house, “The Gazer,” looks toward a view of water, ship, and sky, watching as starry night changes to dawn and back to night again. (See a video of the installation on the Videos page).

Throughout my career, I have created works that represent metaphorical stopping places on the journey through life. Ship and Dock/Nights and Days or The Gazer continues this theme. With its two perched houses and a sky that changes from dawn to star-filled night, it is about time, the transformation of energy, the final journey, our collective journey into the unknown.

Photo credit: Etienne Frossard