Through his innovative artworks that discuss architecture, space, and our idea of home, Ian Strange has established a reputation for himself. LIGHT INTERSECTIONS II is one such artwork in which the artist transforms a dilapidated Victorian house with striking light installation. The piece transfigures the building’s graffitied façade, converting the structural trappings of linear perspective into beams of light that perforate its exterior walls.
“I wanted to bring abstracted perspective lines back into the environment with the lines of light in Intersections,” Strange explains. “Perspective drawing lines that don’t exist in nature are common in painting, drawing, and architecture. They’re used as a means of containing, representing, and altering the natural environment.”
Strange is best recognized for his large-scale architectural interventions that challenge our understanding of the usefulness and purpose of specific built environments. To better view, a neglected building from a new perspective—both literally and metaphorically—this project aims to shed light on it from a new angle. “All of my projects originate from a drawing approach,” the artist says. “So I’ve been interested in how drawn lines materialize in reality—especially how architects and painters utilize perspective lines to interpret and transform the environment.”
Strange created LIGHT INTERSECTIONS II as part of a city-wide public art program and is the second in an ongoing series that began with Strange’s 2019 light exhibition at Lyon Housemuseum, outside of Melbourne. In collaboration with Australian design firm OFFICE and Scoundrel Projects production group, FINAL completed the project’s latest stage. To achieve the appearance that the light beams were floating in midair as they pierced the two-story patio home, they created over 120 meters (394 feet) of LED illumination and steel.
Scroll down to check out pictures of Strange’s kaleidoscopic light installation. Go to the artist’s website or follow him on Instagram for more information. To learn more about LIGHT INTERSECTIONS II, read the essay Threads of Vision by Melbourne University associate professor Rory Hyde, which is included in the book.