For anyone else, throwing shade would be considered a negative. But Simon Heijdens gives it a noteworthy new meaning. His latest work, ’Shade’, throws light and shadow onto the sinuous glass façade of Now Gallery, recently opened in North Greenwich, London. Heijdens designed an intelligent skin for the gallery’s seven-metre walls, with sensors that react to the movement of the wind outside. It acts as a kaleidoscope, translating the random pattern of the elements into a light spectacle viewed from the indoor refuge.
Heijdens, celebrated for his dynamic, spontaneous machinations, was a natural choice for Now’s inaugural exhibition. The gallery, designed by Marks Barfield Architects as part of a regeneration scheme around North Greenwich, commissions work that uses the building itself as a canvas. This installation follows on from Heijdens’ recent project ’Phare no.1-9’, comprising a series of hand-blown vessels, in which drawings appear in mid-water and are projected into the space.
