Mylar & Dichroic Investigations

I've been experimenting for a while now with the reflections created when light is reflected off metallized mylar:

flat smooth mylar - watery reflections

crinkled mylar - like stardust/nebulae

pleated mylar - organic tissue-like

hanging mylar strips - ethereal, spirit-like

cut with soldering iron - chaotic

For the final project I decided to work with the hanging strips because of the ethereal quality of the reflections and also because the reflections change with movements in the air currents around them, creating a mesmerising and calming experience. As people move around the installation, their movement will affect the reflections and I like the idea that the artwork is not static and viewers are involved in its creation.

I also want to encourage visitors to use their own light source (phone torch) which will create a playful and collaborative element to the installation.

I noticed that the reflections created from the stitched section of the strips created very 'spectral' images so I did a few experiments where I stitched into the strips.

I also added a layer of dichroic film and stitched a few of them onto a piece of sheer fabric to make a tube.

I liked the gossomer-like imagery created by the stitch and decided to do further experiments combining stitched dichroic and mylar.

1) dichroic stuck on mylar and stitched

2) dichroic with gap between each strip

3) needle-punched dichroic with gap between strips produced great reflections even without thread - it must be the distortion around each hole which causes the changes in the imagery produced.

Because of time constraints, I decided to go with option 2 but if I were to develop this for an exhibition, I would definitely want to incorporate the needle punching.