The Overseers by Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett, 2022
The Overseers is a semi-circle of veiled figures built from outmoded civic infrastructure. Beckoning viewers to ‘enter the circle’ – a symbolic trope of literature and film, like a freeze-frame from a ritual in progress – the installation was constructed using retired City of Calgary streetlight heads and sheer fabric, animated by the wind. By joining the gathering, viewers are illuminated in golden light, becoming the focus of an unknowable narrative.
In Calgary, high pressure sodium streetlights were replaced by LED streetlights in 2017, transforming the nighttime streetscapes of the city from warm orange to bright white. This transition conserves energy, but comes at a different cost.
We explored the nuance of this transition, and the connection between streetlights and sky glow, with a previous celestial installation called Monument to Fallen Stars (2017). This project was an expansion on some of those ideas (as well as some ideas from Beyond the Veil), in a modest wintertime gesture for ContainR Park, commissioned by Springboard Performance.
In an effort to explore the interspace between light and darkness, The Overseers transitioned every 10 minutes from light to darkness – blinking out in a slow “cooling cycle” unique to high pressure sodium light bulbs and their ilk, glowing softly like the wick of a recently extinguished candle.
The Overseers are bedsheet ghosts for nostalgic city lighting, carrying a gentle commentary on changing technologies and the way we over-light our cities to prioritize human sight (and over-sight) over natural darkness.
Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett 