pAlice is site specific installation for the group show, system:system at St. Cecilia’s Convent, curated by Adam Henry and Christina Vassallo. The piece connects all of the openings in the room with a singular surface, turning it inside-out and offering viewers reference to the exterior of the room without physical access to it. Viewers can also look inside the surface from the outside of the room and see a space that is the surface average of these openings without actually seeing the interior space of the room.

The name of the piece references the idea of an Alice Universe, which allows at least two topologically-distinct routes between any two points (doubly-connected), and if one connection or “handle” is declared to be a “conventional” spatial connection, at least one other must be deemed to be a non-orientable wormhole connection.

The piece approximates a highly precise piece of geometry, but is covered in mirrored panels that camouflage the form by reflecting the interior of the room, cladding the piece with the same texture as the interior of the room, completing the formal surface as an inversion of the room.

Find out more about the process:
Surface assembly with clips
Photos of the installation

Photos: Alan Tansey