Maybe I'll See You Again

2022​​

A friend here on Bainbridge Island recently said to me, “I was in a restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It turned out that the folks at the very next table live just a few blocks away from me on Bainbridge Island! The odds must be astronomical!”

 

That sort of thing happens to many of us, and it’s always surprising. But are the odds really so astronomical?

 

My friend and his suddenly discovered neighbors are retired professionals. They both like to travel and to eat in nice restaurants. Santa Fe is a popular vacation destination. It turns out that similarities in culture, education, income, and other overlapping demographic aspects of our lives conspire to conjure congruity. The world of “all” is a big place, the world of our particular “us” can be quite a bit smaller. That realization can tempt us to occasionally step out of it.

 

This sculpture is designed to catch and reflect glimpses of images from all directions, at random. In the piece, angular momentum is traded among six rotating elements to induce unpredictable or even chaotic rotation of the reflective surfaces in three dimensions.

 

What will the piece offer you a glimpse of? While the light it reflects could come from literally anywhere, it’s most likely arriving from someplace familiar in the room. Will you see that neighbor behind you? A long-lost friend? What are the odds?