Looking Outward 09 / Caitlin Morris

Caitlin Morris is a researcher with MIT and has been faculty at the School for Poetic Computation since its founding in 2013. She holds a BS in Cognitive Psychology and Architectural Sciences and an MFA in Design and Technology. Her career focus is on the complex relationship between humans and our collective environment, as well as the concept of perception in regard to the natural world.
I chose to look at Morris’ 2018 project Seed and Signal for this weeks blog. This particular work is a sculpture meant to simulate the reflection of a tree in the water. A large blue board serves the base of the work, onto which dozens of square and diamond shaped golden plates are mounted. As the plates fold in and open outward, taking up different degrees of reflection depending on where you stand, the piece creates random but coordinated movement across the board.
I enjoy the simplicity of this project, and the visual is calming. It is not based in realism yet still feels as natural as watching reflections on the water. The stated objective of this piece is to visually manifest Morris’ perspective that ‘scientific theories are reflections of the reality beneath’.