In The Backspace

Your Own Halo

Iole Alessandrini

May 03 – June 02, 2018
Reception / Thursday, May 03, 6–8pm

Halo, Nimbus or Aura are all nouns describing a radiance or luminous cloud emanating from the human body. Sacred art showcases supernatural and saintly beings surrounded by an all-pervasive glow that distinguishes them from ordinary people. The realism explored and embraced in renaissance art put halos out of fashion.

What if we were a byte away from materializing the spirit? The 3D printable halo is an artificially constructed device for halo replacement and awareness in line with 3D bioprinting. Unlike organs, a halo is immaterial and generally invisible, even to science. I present 3D haloprinting as an inquiry on halo development in the realm of light art and Artificial Intelligence. Taking something that already exists–a halo–and adding AI to it is an exhilarating idea. The explosion of AI has manifested great promises raising questions on the nature of God and concerns that AI might lead to the replacement of humans as we know them.

If we were indeed able to create halos that we can see and touch, everything that we know of art, science and theology—in the traditional sense—would be challenged with serious repercussions and reinterpretations. Halo 3D printed is a project for the body, for the mind, the heart and the spirit. Please inquire for production of your own 3D printed halo.

Your Own Halo [3D printed] showcases halos and other projects all exploring light through discovery and perception of phenomena.

A version of halos will be part of Iole’s residency on glass at Pilchuck this Summer. Please contact ialessandrini@gmail.com for more information.