Project #3: Brainstorm

For this project, I am designing a projection-mapping installation titled Altar to Death and Devotion. The piece centers around a precariously stacked arrangement of canvases, leaning together like a fragile house of cards. A standing lamp is placed at the core of the structure, casting an ethereal glow through the clear-gesso-primed canvases, illuminating the paintings from within. The paintings themselves explore abstraction and minimalist forms through a process-driven approach to oil paint, creating a balance between fragility and structure.

Projection mapping will enhance this layered installation by incorporating sound-sensitive graphics created in MadMapper. These projections will fluctuate in response to ambient noise captured by a nearby microphone, adding an interactive dimension to the piece. The largest canvas, marked by rectangular screen-like forms, provides a platform for displaying an array of these videos, photos, and sound-reactive visuals. The images I plan to use will draw from my found- and AI-generated image collection, merging analog and digital textures.

The inclusion of small objects such as a plastic skull and a Hanuman keychain will add symbolic depth, referencing themes of devotion, mortality, and impermanence. The 'stilts' which prop up the paintings are remnants of my everyday life that I collect and preserve, such as glass bottles and plastic containers. The installation’s glow, projections, and precarious structure evoke a sense of reverence, akin to an altar. The title reflects these layered intentions, bridging personal and universal symbols of life and decay. By blending physical and digital components, the project becomes a meditation on the fragile and transient nature of art and spirituality.