‘A Well Stirs’

November 16–December 2, 2012
Bernal Heights, San Francisco, CA

A Well Stirs extended the bounds of a stairwell in a domestic setting atop Bernal Hill. Using projected light and architectural illusion, these new site-specific works occupy the stairs as well as the spaces the stairs connect.

Aaron Finnis transposed a view of San Francisco from a vantage point beyond the exhibition site. Working with photographic imagery and computer tape, he reframed the view within a set of parameters dictated by the upstairs installation space.

In the darkened garage, Christine M. Peterson highlighted the underside of the house’s stairs by tracing its structural edges with reflective tape. An accompanying slide projection abstractly mimicked the movement of ascending and descending stairs, with each slide representing a step.

Emma Spertus expanded upon and confounds the architectural elements of the stairwell and its domestic fixtures through a series of photographic reproductions and interventions. As part of her piece, Spertus provided a free poster to be given away during the span of the exhibition.

Related: Takeaway Issue 3