Nova Buchanan
Interior & Environmental Design BDes (Hons)
Apricity: Capturing the warmth of the sun in winter in a 1:1 immersive installation.
About
Apricity is a word that describes how profoundly the sun can affect humans. There is a sense of relief in apricity, like you have been holding your breath all winter without realising it, waiting and praying that the sun comes back, as if ancient fears of the sun dying during those long dark months are still hiding within us. Your body feels lighter, your heart hopeful and willing to accept, not that ‘all is well’, but that there is wellness, joy and feeling in this moment. This is the emotion and feelings I hope to evoke from people whilst they are immersed within the 1:1 installation.
Inspired by original sun cyanotype prints on paper that illustrated the ethereal quality of the sunshine, this immersive experience began to develop. Lengths of printed fabric, specifically chosen for its transparency, movement and fluidity, stretch high above the visitor encouraging their eyes up, mimicking the action one might make when turning their face to the sunlight. It also provides a sense of enclosure, allowing the visitor to get lost within the fabric, catching veiled glimpses further into the structure. Rays of light filter through its semi permeable walls.
The meandering path that leads to a central space is designed based on lines showing the sun’s rise and decent lines around the earth over the year. The visitor orbits through these paths around the central space before finally entering to find an offering from the sun, an orange. A token of the sun’s sacrifice for us.
Invented in 1841 by Sir John Herschel cyanotype is a photography technique that uses the UV rays from the sun in a chemical reaction with iron salts to create a print. The salts oxidise in the sun producing a vivid, high contrast blue image. Cyanotype was an obvious choice when I set out at the beginning of this project as I thought what better way to capture the sun than sun photography. In my project instead of using cyanotype methods in a classical way by blocking the UV rays in certain places to leave the imprint of the image, surrounded by the fully developed blue, I wanted to instead direct the UV rays onto the blank pieces to capture the actual rays of sun. So in my prints, the ‘object’ I’m capturing is in the darkest blues created by light as opposed to the white of untouched chemicals. I did this by putting the chemically treated paper in the shade instead of direct sunlight and then used mirrors to manipulate and bend the sunshine onto the paper and cause the part of the chemicals that are hit by the light to develop into areas of the iconic deep blue of a cyanotype.
Rendered view of final design.
The metal rail follows the shape of a labyrinth, cyanotype printed fabric hangs from the railing creating a layered, transparent wall that moves as visitors walk past adding movement and fluidity into the design. Visitors orbit around a central area in following the paths until it opens up and are presented with the offering of an orange.
Final installation assembly