Closer Than

introduction

This project is intended to create a deep sense of space and reflection for the Brighouse Station platform in Richmond, BC, Canada, along the new wall of an adjacent dense housing project.

With the installation of 388 convex mirrors we wish to produce a kind of shimmering visual plane; a landscape which takes the station itself as its subject. Within this array, the transience of people, space and light will produce an evolving and shifting portrait of the station and ourselves, where, just like in car mirrors we are closer than we appear.

closer than we appear

Being closer than we appear is both a reference to the physical optical effect of the piece, and a suggestion that even as we move about our daily commutes in anonymity, our actions connect to others as we are share the world together.

multiple horizons

Richmond’s landscapes are filled by a variety of horizons created by the confluence of land, estuary, water and sky. This phenomenon is both a physical and mythological condition.

In this piece, the repetition of mirrors will create the effect of multiple horizons, transforming the image of the station into a set of floating horizontals. Because of the convex shape of the mirrors these horizons will link commuters to seeing the sky, which will have disappeared when the new building is constructed. The installation will also enable those on the street level to look up through the foyer of the station and see the activity on the platform, and for those above to sense what is happening on the street. Sky and ground will now be re-united through these multiple horizons.

horizons also

The word “horizons” is also an evocation of a future state, a kind of goal seen in the distance. This set of aspirations is shared by the various peoples who make up the city; they are the true resource which power this future condition in singular and collective ways. Their comings and goings in this pursuit are caught and multiplied by the convex mirrors.

convex mirrors

Convex mirrors are typically used as security elements in acute vehicular conditions, convenience stores and banks. However, in this case these ready-mades are re-purposed into making a sublime visual experience; where what is often unseen (such as the sky) will now be visible, distance will be magnified, and the multiplication of image will elicit playful interaction.

We will angle the top half slightly upwards and the lower half slightly downwards to produce a larger convex surface. This will create an illusion of greater depth to the space, forming a gentle bow to the entire picture. It will eradicate much of the station’s ceiling plane in the process, thereby rebuilding an image of the station as an imaginary landscape.