Shedding light on the situation, consider the way introducing light, removing light, impacts a space. Consider the way it impacts your understanding of a moment. Slight movements change the whole scene. I spoke with David Hughes and Neil Merchant, the creators of DeepLight last week to learn more about their installation in The Speck Gallery, presented on October 4th.

David and Neil have known one another for years, first connecting in elementary school. Neil who is immersed in the music festival scene, reached out to David a couple of years ago to collaborate on making a totem. Unique objects carried around at music festivals, totems allow you to find your people in the masses. According to Neil festivals bring a sense of community, on top of the musical and artistic experiences that draw people to those spaces. Totems are a symbol of that connection, a rallying point for each group. That is how “Carl,” the first iteration of DeepLight, came into existence.

Neil had tried to create something on his own, but knew that David’s experience with Engineering and Computer Science would be invaluable in creating one. Initially this work was seen as something to be exclusively used at music festivals. As it was revealed at different venues, as they saw the way that people engaged with the object, David and Neil began to think beyond that context.

David was involved in the visual arts in high school, but his interests shifted to computer science as he went into college. Initially he did not see creating this object as an artistic practice, mainly drawing his thoughts from the physics of light and mathematics. As he described his fascination with light I was reminded of James Turrell and the Light and Space Movement..

This group of artists created work on the west coast in the 60s and 70s and are often included in Minimalism, a movement that was born out of a resistance to Abstract Expressionism. James Turrell particularly resonated with this work for me. In an interview about a solo show at the Guggenheim, Turrell spent a lot of time describing the way light impacts perception, one of the key elements of David’s work with infinity mirrors. Speaking of infinity mirrors, David mentioned that people often connect DeepLight with Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms.

In addition to showing DeepLight at the Harrison Center, David and Neil have had the chance to show it at World of Light in Los Angeles, California. In that iteration of the piece they incorporated projection, immersing the viewer in the world that is typically only seen by gazing into the object. They are excited to continue moving forward, producing a limited run to be sold and considering new opportunities for installation.