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Jitu Raiyan

Web Developer

Digital Architecture

MODULAR ACRYLIC INSTALLATION

I spent the last few years mostly creating concrete sculptures. The Romeo & Juliet set design project I collaborated on in 2019 brought me a very fundamental question: how can I scale up my work? The question arose at the beginning of the project because it was quite obvious that casting a 6 meter tall concrete structure on a stage was out of the question. Considering all the time-budget constraints, we decided to go for the straightforward option of building it the classic plywood & paint set decor way.

The final result was great and very convincing, but the question remained. About two years later, when ECCO Leather contacted me to do a large-scale concrete (?) installation, it was time to answer that question. It didn’t have the same magnitude as R & J project, but would still have weighted a few tons if it were built in concrete, which would have been rather unrealistic. The idea was to make an art installation representative of my work as well as a product display.

Store Installation

After some thinking,  I proposed scaling up the paper assemblage designs I was exploring during the lockdown months. We can find classic arches, stairs and modularity in a lot of my previous works, but the use of reflective and transparent smoked acrylic adds a whole new level of abstraction. The perception of the piece changes as you walk around or when the surrounding space activity and lighting changes, especially when photographed in a neutral environment. It looks ethereal, almost immaterial, hence the title “Digital Architecture.”

The installation was set up as one large 1200 x 2400 x 800 mm piece and three smaller 1200 x 800 x 800 mm pieces. It was exhibited in ECCO Montreal’s flagship store on Ste-Catherine Street in Sept- Nov, 2021

Cardboard study Models

The modular nature of the project allows for many different layouts. To help me with this giant puzzle, I laser cut miniature cardboard replicas of the pieces. The cardboard models are used afterwards as installation guides to set up the selected designs.

Studio and On-Site Installation Images

Small Layouts

RELATED POSTS

Different and modified layouts were exhibited in these shows:

Vernaculaire Extraordinaire, Art Mûr Gallery, Montreal, January-February 2022
Primitives, OSA Gallery, Ottawa, October 2022
Through the Lattice, Surrey Art Center, Surrey (BC), January-March 2023

Art exhibition at art mur gallery
Vernaculaire Extraordinaire
Solo Exhibiton, Art Mûr Gallery January 15th – February 26th, 20225826 Rue St-Hubert, Montréal,...
001-David-Umemoto-Infrastructures-photo-Mike-Patten
Infrastructures
Solo Exhibiton, Art Mûr Gallery September 5th – October 20th, 2020 Gallerie Art Mûr5826 Rue St-Hubert,...
two blue acrylic laser cut sculptures
Acrylic Assemblages
LIFE IN PLASTIC Seeing all the acrylic being used during the Pandemic, I started wondering what will...