Solar Totems (2017-2020)
Commissioned by the SF Arts Commission for the Glen Park Recreation Center
Over the course of 3 years, three reclaimed redwood logs receive the "writing" of the sun as its rays are focused by a spherical lens to lightly burn into the wood. As the sun moves across the sky, the burn becomes a line, preserving a record of sunshine periodically broken by fog or cloudy skies.
The lens is advanced a small distance each day to create a distinct daily line. After one year the heliograph mechanism is transferred to the next log. In this way, the work is completed on-site and becomes a sculptural archive of the specific atmospheric conditions of the site.
