Illuminate the Human Experience

Common raindrops surround us regularly in this city. The rain often seems dull, endless, and uninteresting. Often, Portlanders don’t even see the stars during the winter months, instead looking up only to see more and more similar rain drops falling around them. But if we take a moment to really look at a drop or puddle of water, and if we shine a light onto those rain drops and puddles, we might be surprised by what we see.

This installation celebrates some of our most common experiences. By shining a powerful light onto a puddle at just the right angle, we can project the movement of water through a basin onto the glass beyond. Rain drops, wind and other objects that interact with the puddle activate the projection into a moving light show. These images, cast onto the side of our vestibule, turn the most mundane things – a puddle of water, some raindrops, and a sheet of glass – into a glowing lantern that offers a new perspective into what we see every day.