Doreen Balabanoff
Canada
born 1952
Light-colour-darkness - an inseparable trio - permeates our world and our consciousness. Light is invisible until it falls upon something - whether moisture particles in the air or material surfaces/substances. For me, the medium of glass 'un-conceals' the interconnectedness of everything. Another intricate trio, mind-body-environment, makes up our world. Our constantly-shifting relationship with the enveloping environment engages the mystery and beauty of light (= light-colour-darkness). The architectural concept of Venustas (Vitruvius, Ist c. BC) is often translated as 'delight' understood as the 'aesthetic' aspects of architecture, Venustas evokes the properties of Venus: love, desire, emotionality, female beauty, sensuality, sexuality, fertility, fecundity. Light, in all its complexity, is a key aspect of Venustas - it makes architecture, the world, delightful, moving, sensual, beautiful. But light also is the giver of life. It is fundamentally about the aliveness of the world.