Bright Heart

Bright Heart

I dreamt of Bright Heart for more than two years. She took over 350 hours of steel fabrication to complete and another 150 to finish and hand paint the details. Starting with a vintage steel framed bike that was beyond repair, I cut it apart, stretched, it and re-imagined it as a vehicle for change.

 

Front heart detail

Front heart detail

Front fender

Front fender

Metamorphosis. My sister told me that to travel at the speed of light you have to be light. This pushed the chicken or the egg question? How can we transform ourselves? What would this look like? With the intention to create a bike that was on the verge of shifting into light, the viewer would see the transformation happening and consider their own. 

Custom chain guard

Custom chain guard

    Additionally, the project was a challenge for my skill set. Fabrication and fitting in the industry I work in is so often based on square and level. It was demanding to build something all curves, all by eye. The sculpture has no inside or backside, so there was nowhere to hide. Each layer interacts with the others; I was building something transparent. I had seen a lot of computer generated images of light and tracers and I wanted to see if I could construct this effect with steel and paint. Visual aspects are driven by key words: Beauty, Magic, Truth, Fantasy, Psychedelic, Geometric, Organic Mythological, Symbolism, Mystery and History. 

Back fender

Back fender

All of the ornamentation was handcrafted by me from mild steel in my Nakusp metal studio. The frame was powder coated, the bike reassembled and then each detail hand painted with reflective and colour changing nail polish to amplify the visual effect. When spot lit in the dark all the black powder coat disappears and the painted reflective details pick up light and the illusion of matter transforming into energy is very real. 

Basket side view

Basket side view

Back fender detail

Back fender detail

Back basket detail

Back basket detail

Alongside Bright Heart is a light box holding the science fiction story of her creation. 

Bright Heart20166' long x 4' high x 2'6" wide55 poundsLight speed capability Photos: Lee Orr  

Bright Heart

2016

6' long x 4' high x 2'6" wide

55 pounds

Light speed capability

Photos: Lee Orr