To solve our problem of having to cast so many candles, we’ve found a two-part alternative:

  • use foam core blocks to create base height variation; we can reduce the max candle height significantly while achieving  great overall height variation for our landscape
  • start with pre-bought cylindrical candles (we can buy them in bulk; don’t need to deal with tedious wick and melt calculations) and cut/shave them down into hexagons– might be a bit messy/imperfect, but that might create a more organic form that reads less religious

Other updates:

  • Because our pre-bought cylindrical candles will be un-dyed, we’ll buy colored wax dye chips for participants to sprinkle into the melted wax pools while the candles are lit– this is now an additional input.
  • If we have to be installed outside, we’ll have a camera streaming video of the installation projected in the space (no particular preference of location as of now) so we have a physical presence inside the event.
  • If we have to be installed outside, we’d like to be inside one of the concave nooks beside the main entrance; we’d likely need some sort of wind screen.

Materials: