Towers in the Galaxy of Crabs and Northern Waters

Vellum, pencil crayon, sign vinyl, MDF, balsa wood, monofilament, magnets, needles, and thread.
For scale: Tower is 56″ high
Trees range in height from 2″ – 4″
Vinyl drawing is approximately 24″ x 48″
Crab drawing is approximately 20″ x 20″
2007

The central tower consists of 23 vellum boxes that are scale models of homes in which I’ve lived. The tower is fixed to the floor with monofilament guy wires, the same monofilament that make the “constellation” balls hanging from the ceiling. 150 +/- balsa trees surround the tower. The vinyl drawing in the corner depicts four of Sackville, New Brunswick’s shortwave radio towers (where I currently live). On the left wall is a drawing of the Cancer constellation. I’ve marked three of Cancer’s stars with magnets. Correspondingly, I attached three threads to three “constellation” shadows on the right wall. These threads (with needles attached) stretch over to the magnets. The threads are calibrated to hold the needles in the magnetic field without actually touching the magnets. In effect, the threads float in space.