REFLECTION RISING

by: Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics

“Reflection Rising” was a colorful, site-specific public art installation suspended above the Canal at Scottsdale Waterfront.  The installation was on display from November 2017–March 2018 and commissioned by Scottsdale Public Art.  Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics created this site-specific outdoor sculpture to be featured at Canal Convergence 2018.  Shearn is inspired by forms that expose unseen natural forces in unusual, immersive ways.  As such, he proposed a lightweight kinetic sculpture that would be activated by Scottsdale’s natural wind forces. This reference to the natural world is also seen through the art installation’s vibrant colors, which evoke the colors of an Arizona sunset and which are mirrored in the surface of the canal waters.

Stretching over 14,000 square feet, the installation was made from over 100,000 colorful ripstop nylon streamers. The public art piece emerged from underneath the Soleri Bridge and steadily rose up into the sky.  It meandered over 750 feet of water and pedestrian pathways.  Eventually, the art installation concluded at the Marshall Way Bridge. In February, a new section was added to “Reflection Rising” specifically for the Canal Convergence event. This second phase consisted of 6,000 square-feet of metallic mylar streamers attached to monofilament. Once installed, the new section blended into the eastern end of the original art installation and rose up and over the Soleri Plaza acting as a breathing metallic shade structure.

“Reflection Rising” was an immediate success with the public. People would gather at the waterfront on windy days to see art installation jump 30 feet in the air. Then watch its vibrant colors dance across the water’s reflection. Additionally, when the new section was added, a new sense of awe occurred as people could step underneath and touch a sparkling wave of light and movement.