ORPHAN

Oregon State Treasury, Salem, OR.
2022

Inspired by the history and future of seismic activity in the Pacific Northwest, Orphan is a collaborative project with artist and structural engineer Clayton Binkley. Drawing inspiration from natural landscapes impacted by seismic activity as well as a range of cultural narratives related to earthquakes, the sculpture is kinetic, but moving at a pace too slow to see change in any single viewing.

In 1700 a subduction zone earthquake along the coast of the Pacific Northwest caused a series of giant waves to break along the east coast of Japan. Because the Japanese did not know where these waves came from at that time it was referred to as an “orphan” tsunami.

The sculpture is sited adjacent the entry to the new headquarters for the Oregon State Treasury building in Salem, OR. The sculpture gradually moves by means of engagement with the front door of the building. Each person who enters through the door contributes an incremental movement either bringing the two forms of the sculpture closer together or further apart within a repeating loop. Each movement cycle will take roughly two months. Fabricated with weathering steel. 24 feet high.

Open to the public. 867 Hawthorne Ave SE, Salem Oregon 97301