Holly Veselka

Alum crystals grown on mirrors of various sizes, dye, and pencil, installed in a 72 inch circle.

Ancient Sunlight was an experimental exhibition about geologic time, specifically the generation and decomposition of Earth’s matter. The artworks mimicked these geological processes over the shorter time-scale of an exhibition. On the gallery walls I arranged material experiments which used chemical reactions to form solid circles of sugar, salt, and starch. Using these circles, I mapped the movement of the Earth’s body around the sun, the hands of a clock, or the sonar detection displays used by geologists. Over time, the works developed stalactites, changed color or shape, and turned to powder. .

Sugar, paraffin wax, chocolate coating, dye, and pencil installed in a 60 inch circle.

Sugar, paraffin wax, chocolate coating, wood, dye, and pencil installed in 48 inch circle.