Boston Artist Creates Immersive Experience Using Shipping Container For New Art Piece

Clint Baclawski, Boston Artist Light Bulbs, Plexiglas, Mounted Dibond, LED Art, Zephyr 2017
Back in 2014, Boston-based artist Clint Baclawski began working with Dibond aluminum composite as a substrate for his three-dimensional artworks. His diverse works feature a series of photographs manipulated with the use of LED lighting tubes and mirrored plexiglas. He was invited to complete an on-site installation for Boston’s HUBweek in October of last year where he created a truly immersive experience.

Clint Baclawski, Boston Artist Light Bulbs, Plexiglas, Mounted Dibond, LED Art, Zephyr 2017
©Clint Baclawski, Zephyr, 2017

‘Zephyr’ was finished and displayed in the fall as artist Baclawski describes, “The piece depicts one of the vast California wind turbine fields in the Coachella Valley and was a site-related piece.” The work was originally featured within a shipping container where an unassuming visitor enters unaware of the bright and colorful work that sits inside. The LED tubes have the ability to transform photography into a three-dimensional medium where photos are further manipulated by a viewer’s movement.

Clint Baclawski, Boston Artist Light Bulbs, Plexiglas, Mounted Dibond, LED Art, Zephyr 2017
©David Guerra

Baclawski describes the piece, explaining, “Its scale invites viewers to step towards it and interact with the piece. Hundreds of people interacted with the piece, photographing it and themselves from many different angles. My favorite viewers were small children who were fascinated by the light and reflection between the bulbs.”

Clint Baclawski, Boston Artist Light Bulbs, Plexiglas, Mounted Dibond, LED Art, Zephyr 2017
©Clint Baclawski, Zephyr, 2017

The HUBweek artwork was designed within the guidelines of intersecting science, innovation and sustainability. Each artist at the event was invited to showcase his or her works within a shipping container. “It was a very unique and challenging experience designing and installing in a shipping container,” quotes Baclawski, “Unexpectedly, I had to alter the piece on-site hours before its debut due to unforeseen circumstances within the container.”

Clint Baclawski, Boston Artist Light Bulbs, Plexiglas, Mounted Dibond, LED Art, Zephyr 2017
©Clint Baclawski, Zephyr, 2017

Utilizing Dibond aluminum composite numerous times for previous pieces, Baclawski is an avid user of the material. With the on-site alterations he explains, “Dibond was definitely a saving grace for this piece in particular. Without the rigidity Dibond provides, due to the scale and layout, the piece would have presented similar to a funhouse mirror, with noticeable warping effect.”

Clint Baclawski, Boston Artist Light Bulbs, Plexiglas, Mounted Dibond, LED Art, Zephyr 2017
©Clint Baclawski, Zephyr, 2017

‘Zephyr’ is now on view outside of the shipping container installation at BostonArt Inc. in the Design and Innovation Center in Boston’s Seaport area.

information and photography courtesy of ©Clint Baclawski except where noted