Meagan Streader


Silent structures, 2019
Installation views
MARS Gallery, Melbourne

'Silent structures' is a series of sculptures exploring light and geometric simplicity. This collection of works presents a departure from previous investigations into site-specific light installations, however continues to respond to and reinterpret architectural elements through illumination, colour and material. Reminiscent of neon and art-deco styles, this body of work uses commercial off-shelf components and materials reconstructed to create unique geometric abstractions of light evocative of the window or stained-glass treatments. Contrasting the window’s original function to let light in and cast coloured patterns on interior spaces, these works actively trap the fluorescent light piercing through the frames behind the rippled glass.

Through texture, colour and distortion, Streader reveals the internal construction of the electronic components and cabling, and uses illumination to re-orient the perception of the viewer and their relationship to the constructed elements. Shifting or seemingly vibrating illuminated lines suggest an illusion of movement through blurred light, with various arrangements of simple light lines creating an ambiguous sense of depth behind textured glass.