Murmuration of Light — Constantinos Gallis

Constantinos Gallis
Cambridge, MA & Athens, GR

Hello, my name is Constantinos, & I am a Greek-Swiss artist, musician & student based in Cambridge, MA & Athens, GR. I am currently a dual degree student at MIT, pursuing a Master in City Planning & a Master of Architecture, & I hold a BA in Urban Studies from Stanford University, where I graduated with departmental honors & distinction. I am curious about the effects of urban change on the natural environment & society, I have explored my interests through academic research, teaching, large scale installations, performances, audio-visual investigations, & practical work experience at firms in Athens. GR, New York, NY & London, GB.

cgallis@mit.edu Instagram

I am one half of Oo-PS, a collaborative research & design practice working across scales to produce narrative-driven artwork, writing, music & objects as ways of anticipating sets of future socio-environmental challenges & designing theoretical methods to meet them.

Oo-PS

I write, record, produce & occasionally perform music under the alias Shrinking Violet, a project that modulates between ambient, dreampop & indie rock in an effort to create music about memory, distance & uncertainty.

Shrinking Violet

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Murmuration of Light
Stanford, CA
Environmental Installation

Murmuration of Light is an installation that manipulates light from the sun to create two distinct patterns. This piece was created for CEE 32F: Light Color & Space taught by Beverly Choe at Stanford. Prism light dispersion was the key inspiration for the piece, as I attempted to split the single source of light from the sun into distinct planes of light that act differently to one another, but depend wholly on each other. This effect was achieved by using two types of acrylic pieces to create the installation; blue translucent squares, & yellow reflective squares, each of which determined the direction of light.

The blanket is vulnerable to the elements & sways in the wind, causing the reflections to dance. It is accessible to all to touch, move, shake, & adjust, changing how light flutters. It can also be left alone, purely as an art object rather than an interactive piece. It has been installed in multiple places across Stanford’s campus, including at the Frost Amphitheater, the Elliott Programming Center, & the Stern Hall Courtyard, where it has remained, slowly decaying for the last three years.