ACCUMULUS

ACCUMULUS is a site-specific installation at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) through the fall in 2015. The title of the project comes from the convergence of three ideas: Accumulation, Cumulus, and Us. As result of a semester-long of design, concept, and assembly process, the work is positioned within the cantilevered space above CAM’s entryway and finds its form through thousands of lightweight, interlocking wire and plastic panels, similar to the formation of a cumulus cloud, to designate not only a transitional space but also a gathering place—a place for us.

Participation and Interaction

Hidden within the entryway cantilever, ACCUMULUS can only be seen directly by visitors standing underneath, while the play of light and shadow it creates are noticeable from a distance, stimulating audience’s optical sensation and inducing their curiosity of observation and immersion. The objective is to encourage the audience actively participate in exploring the world around, rather than passively accepting readily available information, to maximize their cognitive abilities.

Activate Space with Light

Light variation is a key element in this project. The changing sunlight throughout the day interact with the clear, reflective, and semi-opaque materials in varying shapes of thousands of modular panels, dappling the sidewalk and walls below with shadows and prismatic effects.

Bubble Structure and Module System

The entire volume is filled with smaller empty-volume ‘bubbles’ wrapped in a thin, translucent material, connected by wires. Just as bubbles, they are light, self-supported, and fill a large volume while use the minimal material.