Canal Dreams

(Edition of 4)

Canals at the Institute – #1
2006
Assemblage with slide photo, fiber optic lens and electroluminescent light
12 x 4 x 4 inches
Collection of Richard Garriot

A recurring dream of mine places me along the banks of various waterways, usually with houses or buildings lining the shore. I set out in a canoe into Lake Austin to look for accurate representations among the older neighborhoods that line the connected creeks and canals of the lake. Nearly a hundred 35mm slide images were narrowed down to the four, which are amazingly true to the dreams they depict. The viewing mechanism (a glass, fiber-optic ball, sawed in half and polished) adds to the dream effect while producing a very unusual and impressionistic three-dimensional view of the landscape. Blue green electroluminescent night light filaments are placed behind each scene. The black phenolic and brass frames were cut and designed to fit around the found objects.