by collaborative Sub Rosas; Eli Geiser and Elaine Parks
August 2011
 
WindFisher is a sculpture placed in the Bonneville Salt Flats on August 7 & 8, 2011. The 45' net is a temporary installation that is animated by the wind and changed by light and shadow.

All the sculptural elements are white - the net is  sewn from an extremely sheer, gauzy fabric. Transparent cloth tubes are sewn into 50 holes that pierce the net. Seven white posts placed in a J form, hold the sculpture. WindFisher interrupts the large, flat, monochrome and disorienting landscape with its subtle form and movement. Seen from afar it appears as a small, white rectangle on the salt surface. At close proximity, a delicate dynamic appears.
 
The wind establishes a front and back of the piece. We placed the net to take advantage of the wind coming from the southeast. Air fills the tubes lifting them to create a vibrating horizontal component and inflates the net.
 
The consistent landscape and minimal sculpture combine in a spectrum of shadow and color. The shadow of the net on the ground shifts from one side of the piece to the other, throughout the day. The tubes cast elaborate shadows on themselves, the net and the salt. Sunlight fills the tubes creating white glowing circles from the front and super-dimensional shapes from the back.
 
This quiet playa seems more empty than any other desert setting. We are attracted to the reduction of elements for our installation: only the wind, intense light and salt surface.  The salt surface itself, reveals a range of color throughout the day; blue, yellow, orange and pink. The net takes advantage of this phenomenon and multiplies the colors further. WindFisher and its shadows express the rich variety that embodies the color white.