Dusk’s creatures

This piece aimed to engage the viewer by tasking them to identify various animals silhouettes created by cast shadows. The viewer is encouraged to look closely and carefully in order to take note of their surroundings in order to correctly identify all 10 animal silhouettes. The actions taken by the viewer when observing this piece was intended to parallel those practiced by field biologists when observing wildlife at night, as patience and careful inspection of an area are paramount in wildlife surveys.

Dusk's Creatures is a 12 sided shadow casting lamp placed on a rotating acrylic turntable. 10 out of 12 of the panels each contain hidden silhouettes of nocturnal wildlife native to Western North Carolina along with two panels casting shadow-silhouettes of native trees. This project went through several iterations, it was initially created out of paper, then wood, and then finally metal. Digital illustrations were made and then cut into pentagonal panels using a water cut before being welded together for the final product you see here. When a light is placed in the center, the lamp will cast a 360 degree shadow across the walls of a small to medium sized room.