When an aurora appears across the night sky, it amplifies the hidden structure of the magnetosphere in brilliant pulses of light and color. PORTAL explores the relationship between light and transformation — through movement, sound, and time-based dynamics. Light can pulse, shift, and evolve; a powerful transformation of an aurora and its ability to connect the public to light and nature.
PORTAL opens a window onto the landscape—day and night—offering a multisensory experience of light and transformation. Lenticular imagery creates shifting illusions through overlapping visuals that change with the viewer’s movement. At night, PORTAL mimics the colours of an aurora, drawing a connection to the natural phenomenon that embodies light and transformation. In doing so, it gestures toward the magnetosphere—normally invisible—momentarily revealing the forces that shape and draw us together.
PORTAL is designed as a looking glass rendered large to peer into light itself, paused to interact uniquely with each visitor creating their own reflection in the light. The sculpture’s cylindrical lens slows light down, to refract, reflect and bend light, alternating perspectives and transforming light in the natural sunlight and at night by the lights embedded within its frames. With the entire sculpture face made up of clear, acrylic rods, the surface becomes highly reactive to light and movement, meaning the artwork becomes most animated when activated by movement and presence.
Tonya Hart is a Canadian artist born in Newfoundland and now based in Toronto, Ontario. Her artwork is known for its use of light, energy, and magnetism to create a connection with the natural world. Her light-based sculptures vary in scale and aim to evoke the energy found within natural phenomena. Hart's work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2018.
