Snow/Migration (2016)

Mark Ashby

4751 McClelland Rd

Area: East Richmond
Location: The artwork is located in the entry plaza

Materials: Aluminum, Stainless Steel, LED Lights, Microphones

Program: Private
Ownership: Private
Sponsored By: SmartREIT

Description of Work

Snow/Migration consists of 5 sculptural lamp standards with broad folded metal reflectors. High-power, white LEDs, are programmed to provide an ambient light show. Local sound sensors located on the lamp standards over-ride the ambient program with an interactive program allowing the artwork to respond to the sound of low-flying aircraft, the cadence of a voice or to be “played” like a musical instrument.

Snow/Migration is inspired by the migratory passage of snow geese, an annual feature of the Richmond tidal marsh landscape. We are fundamentally a nation of migrants. The annual migration of birds reminds us of our own origins, our journey, the dreams that propelled it and our connection to far-flung places around the globe.

Artist Statement

Mark Ashby's practice explores the phenomenology of place. Each project is an investigation into the qualities and characteristics that shape the experience of place. Sometimes physical, sometimes economic, environmental or historical, each place is shaped by its own set of forces. Site-specific art interventions draws these invisible influences to light, giving them tangible presence in the public realm.

Design is a public practice and Mark thrives on projects that benefit and communicate with the broader public. Each project is an opportunity to engage people on both intellectual and visceral planes, or to bring them into contact with their environment in a new and unexpected way. To elicit enriched understanding of place or simply to elicit a smile; these are opportunities Mark lives for as a designer and artist.