Alchemy, 2000, Old San Ysidro Church, Corrales, New Mexico

Alchemy, 2005, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA

Originally titled Alchemy of Desire, this collaborative installation with sound artist Steve Peters, was first presented in September 2000 as a site-specific installation at the historic San Ysidro Church in Corrales, New Mexico. The visual component consisted of thirteen spun yellow brass bowls (26"dx6.5"h) set upon suspended steel plates (30"x30"). The sound is derived from the whispering voices of 32 people reading written responses we received from over 300 people in fifteen countries to our invitation to imagine change in the world. Individual voices are heard through transducers affixed to the bowls that transmit sound directly into the metal, causing them to resonate. Heard clearly in the first bowl, the voices are electronically transformed into increasingly pure, abstract tones as they flow through the space in a quiet wave and gradually subside into silence. Random groupings of unprocessed voices are played at very low volume through small speakers distributed throughout the gallery. Since 2000, Alchemy has exhibited at Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, WY, 2003; Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA, 2005; Portland Art Center, Portland, OR, 2007.

Article in Art in America, April 2001