Θ
As a body intermediating architectural and celestial spatiality, I ought to interconnect the geographical coordinates to the sun’s direct action. In other words, physically interpolating both the geographical coordinates, and these with the sun’s gamut of (recorded) positions.
Seeking to quantify the cyclical and ephemeral light emission that is inducing the apparition, disappearance, and variations within the heterotopia, and to determine the corporal meeting point where harmony appears, I fabricated and installed two solargraphs: a fix and a mobile, an analog and a digital, on my balcony and to travel inside my bag. I developed and programmed an autonomous and weatherproof digital solagraph, with a battery life capable to record a full twelve-hour-sun-cycle. Hosted inside a clear food container, the micro-computer (Raspberry Pi 3B+) stores the sun’s course data over the horizon, effectively capturing the brightest pixel’s coordinates on the video feed over time. This pixel detection at the core of the technology constitutes a fertile ground for further detection of (sky’s) objects, such as vapour trails, birds or other particles and fragments. After recording, the datasets for each three phases of the cycle – sunrise, daytime, sunset – were then verified and cleaned to process. First rendered to vector lines, they were pen plotted on drawing paper – allowing size and placement calibration – and tracing paper for the interplay of opacity as mockup for both physical installation and material selection for future paper publication. These lines were finally laser engraved on clear transparent acrylic, allowing the spectator to superpose the natural background or the other prints to the observed dataset. The material is a further reminder of the transparent spatial layer we inhabit – that is delimited by the horizon that surrounds us –, our scalp tingled by the sun or the laser beam, like walking under high voltage electrical wires. Their slim but rigid profile offers the possibility for double sided free standing mounting while remaining weatherproof.