INSTALLATIONS > Current /Potential

Installation View Seattle City Light North Service Center:

I utilized a printing and fabrication technology widely used in outdoor sign graphics: UV inks printed onto materials, either aluminum overlaid on a PVC core, which is very sturdy and stable, or thick sheets of clear acrylic. I then had all this cut to into shapes through CNC routering by the fabricator.

I also used ceramic and glass insulators from the Seattle City Light Salvage yard, which is a lively place, full of wonders. The staff there let me pick through their discard bins for cool stuff, but were pretty touchy about me using anything that could possibly be reused or recycled. Seattle City Light has a strong commitment to reducing their waste stream.

I wanted to use some items from the field, as many of the SCL staff who would be using the auditorium where my piece is installed work in the field repairing and installing electrical service to the city. I felt it would honor their work and maybe tickle them to see stuff they encounter every day. I also loved the shapes and colors of the insulators, they fit in perfectly with my overall vision.

a view of  installation by Kate Sweeney, 'Current/Potential', for Seattle City Light's North Service Center.
Current/Potential
UV Printed Dibond, acrylic,and found materials
35 feet by 8 feet
2012

Photo by Spike Mafford