RIMS
mixed media, 2016,
Hyatt Place Hotel, Emeryville, CA
dimensions varied

I have always been attracted to the ceiling, what I would call the fifth wall, so I was overjoyed when a gallery I work with asked me to develop a hanging sculpture for the Hyatt Place’s lobby made from bicycle parts. I quickly came up with the idea of fabricating it out of bike rims which would be easy to acquire. Rims also lead me to exploring medieval chainmail. Chainmail was nothing more than hundreds-thousands of small interlocking metal rings, just enlarge one to 27 inches and you have a bike rim. 

Because of the space and size restrictions and wanting to amply the circle, I choice a pattern used for a curve in a piece of chainmail armor. It is a never-ending pattern of circles, starting with a single ring and then increasing numbers of rings in each additional circle. Requiring over 400 points of contact with the ceiling and each rim being hung and adjusted by hand. The finished piece was praised by its new owners and demonstrated what can be done with a simple circle and a creative mind.