Our Sheltering Sky

OUR SHELTERING SKY, is an installation on view at The Drawing Room Annex, SF as part of the invitational show SKY, beginning February 18, 2023.

Always fascinated by the changing nature of the skies above, I have used sequential photography of skies from different parts of the world in an effort to capture this ephemeral quality. Recently I have turned my attention back to earth, to those who find themselves below the skies, shelterless. In spite of many ideas and proposals, little action has emerged as a solution.

In this installation I subvert the conventional notion of sky by transforming a sky that is typically perceived as “above our heads” and un-reachable into an element to be contemplated vertically on a wall, unfurling down to the ground. Sequential photographic strips of blue skies with a variety of cloud formations cover the walls of the installation area, rolling down onto the floor. Viewers find themselves facing skies from different parts of the world, indicating universality. In their juxtaposition, the sky strips remind one of symbols of ‘a home’ or ‘a face’. A few strips roll up in two select ‘windows’ or ‘eyes’, revealing a diptych: “Shelter” and “Sleep”, featuring the harsh reality of the unhoused in urban areas.

OUR SHELTERING SKY is intended as a call to arms, as an awakening to this tragic condition that surrounds us. The imagery of skies as protective walls is a reference to both the nurturing quality of nature as well as to its perilousness. My intention is to provoke empathy in the viewer, to stimulate the imagination, and to find solutions.