Art in Space, Space in Art
Sarah Hildén Art Museum, Tampere
2023

Blinds Wide Shut

Motorized blinds, control units

The site-specific installation was based on the minimalistic concrete architecture of Sara Hildén Art Museum, and the views opening through the windows to the nearby lake. We wanted to emphasize these views by opening and closing them.

Eight semi transparent motorized blinds delimited a square space in the open exhibition hall, and this space was further divided into four smaller spaces by four more similar blinds. The dimensions of the blinds derived from the modular measurements of the concrete beams supporting the midsole above the exhibition hall.

The motorized blinds were controlled by four control units, three blinds connected to each. The individual blinds are raised and lowered slowly, each in their own phase, opening and closing the space and views through it in a random manner. The installation and the spaces it created were in a constant state of change.

The dark color of the blinds contrasted with the bright daylight flowing in through the windows. It also symbolized the grief caused by knowledge that the museum is forced to leave the building. In a way, the work can be seen as our homage to it and its beautiful site.