Aitken has employed the architecture of Seattle Art Museum’s building for MIRROR to reflect the energy and movement of the city. He was inspired by the idea of creating a living museum, a downtown building that could change in real time in relation to the environment around it like an urban earthwork.
As a kind of living kaleidoscope, MIRROR consists of a monumental LED display that wraps around the northwest corner of the museum’s building. The main component is a glass-covered horizontal band of images which dissolve into narrow columns of light that run up and down the façade in a dynamic configuration. Movement and energy from its surroundings allow the images that move across the work’s surface to expand and collapse as the building encounters and senses change.
MIRROR is expected to transform First Avenue and Union Street, creating new crossroads for downtown Seattle. It will be unveiled on 24 March 2013.
