Hieroglyphic House
2019, 2020
Painted steel, tinted polycarbonate
Competition finalist proposal for permanent installation at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center pedestrian plaza (2020)
Hieroglyphic House is a dreamlike structure pierced with rough-hewn pictograms and oblique symbols. The sculpture’s deconstructed, house-like form evokes the quintessential shotgun houses of New Orleans, scaled to an intimate size. Its surfaces are filigreed with images drawn from residents’ memories of the city. From an evocative alphabet of familiar and arcane shapes, viewers can find their own language and sequence new meanings.
The shifted walls, unexpected openings, and figurative cut-out shapes of Hieroglyphic House create an open/closed, outside/inside space that is at once welcoming, playful, and mysterious. Small doorways and openings create additional opportunities for light and shadow play and interaction. The sculpture’s home-like context creates an inviting and fantastical space where people are free to explore, relax, play, or just pass through. Hieroglyphic House is meant to be tactile and immersive, and a magical space for younger visitors. The appearance of the sculpture and its shadows change with the angle of the sun, throughout the day and across seasons.
Earlier iterations of this proposal were developed in 2019 with a team that included Nolen Strals, Kacie Moon, Christian Mortlock, and the Neighborhood Design Center.
