Intersections: Alyson Shotz

In cosmology, “the ecliptic” refers to the path on which the Earth orbits around the Sun. Slightly inclined and intersecting with the equatorial plane, the ecliptic plane is not fixed but altered by the gravitational forces of other planets, hence constantly changing the celestial sphere.

Similarly, Alyson Shotz’s Ecliptic—three interrelated large-scale drawings—is in permanent motion. Made of blue yarn looped over thousands of nails, the individual pieces occupy the gallery space much like planets occupy the cosmos. At once delicate and monumental, flat and three-dimensional, the works create a play of light and shadow and hover between drawing and sculpture, transforming the room into a weightless environment. “My sculpture is about creating volume without mass…carving out or defining a space using almost nothing at all,” says Shotz.

Ecliptic, like much of Shotz’s work, draws inspiration from science. The installation references cosmic topology and the perpetual rotation of planets and alludes to the layers of space beyond the observable and experiential. To create this, dematerialized space, the artist projects computer–generated shapes onto a wall and then transpose them into sculptural forms. Shotz explains: “The thread drawings are very much about the materials of drawing, the physical motion of drawing, and even the beauty of a line in itself. The drawing becomes illuminated in both the actual thread line, as well as the shadow lines, and the planes that are created are only implied; they are optical illusions.” These illusions heighten the senses, allowing both the viewer and the work to change over time.