This is Portal. I named the sculpture Portal to reference not an opening to another dimension, rather onto our current time and place. All the materials were selected in consideration of the exhibition theme Rhythms of Light to explore the relationship between light and transformation. The clear rods are used to slow light down, to refract, reflect and bend light, creating alternating views of light and color throughout the day and night. The transparency allows the light and landscape to coalesce in becoming a new lens to focus the view. The frame of the sculpture will also transform in the light. It appears like raw metal; however, this is in fact Corten steel. In time its color will patina to a rich deep orange. The rusted frame is a visual reminder of our eroded connection to nature with the center magnifying the light and world around us, encouraging introspection and renewed wonder. I was drawn to all these elements by insight into the aurora that amplifies the hidden structure of magnetic fields, a reoccurring motif in my work. When an aurora appears across the night sky, it amplifies the hidden structure of the magnetosphere in brilliant pulses of light and color. Portal explores this relationship between light and transformation like a looking glass rendered large to peer into light itself, paused to interact uniquely within the environment.

Portal was commissioned by Ontario Place for Lumiere: The Art of Light exhibition in Trillium Park in Toronto from February 16 to March 27th, 6-11 pm nightly. The exhibition includes fourteen light-based installations exploring this year’s theme — “Rhythms of Light: Motion, Sound, and Time”.

Images: Portal 2026, steel, acrylic, LEDs 82”H x 76”W x 48”D