My Projects

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  Aqueous

  AQUEOUS is a sequence of interactive LED platforms that form trails of light. During the day, the sculpture shifts in color and reflection, mirroring the sky. At night, AQUEOUS glows in full illuminated interactivity, engaging groups in an ever-changing landscape. Inspired by the symmetry in natural systems, AQUEOUS is one of the first pattern-based sculptures built at this scale. Composed of hundreds of interactive modular platforms derived from the Golden Ratio, the sculpture can be installed in multiple configurations. Each platform is controlled by code written by the artist, allowing them to sense human interaction individually, but also to link to each other to form interconnected pathways of light effects.

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  Boundless

  “Boundless” is a permanent interactive artwork. Constructed from infinity mirrors and glass, this piece features a large interactive ground-based gear that visitors can dance on. A towering, lean-to gear filled with animating interactive infinity mirrors adds a prolific touch to the work. Through its glowing and reflective surface, “Boundless” seeks to engage passersby in a moment of playful reflection as they dance across its mesmerizing platform. Currently installed at Dream Park in Arlington Texas, with the park set to open in 2024. Commissioned by the Arlington Texas Rotary Club to commemorate their 100 year anniversary. Come and experience the dynamic interplay of light, movement and reflection in “Boundless”.

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  Euclid

  Inspiration for Euclid comes from the mesmerizing reflections of Australian tidal pools. Euclid presents an expansive landscape of mirrored glass platforms that reflects the sky by day and transforms with the setting sun into a fully interactive work that illuminates the paths of people walking across its surface. A highly-customized computer control system created from Lewin’s custom components triggers more than 20,000 interactive light-emitting diodes (LEDs) into an elaborate and engaging light show. Lewin’s Euclid is displayed on the ground level of The SoNo Collection’s Southwest Plaza Entrance.

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  Flow

  Flow is a sculpture designed to combine mathematical, musical, and dance principles into an interactive experience that activates multiple senses. When visitors move beneath the sensors on the bottom of each of its light tubes, they will trigger swirling LED lights that move up the tube as if pushed from beneath, while also playing a musical tone. Trained as a dancer, musician, and mathematician, Jen Lewin combines all of these disciplines in her visual work in an effort to create an immersive experience that highlights the interconnectivity between the human senses. Just as people can trigger sensors on Flow, the sculpture simultaneously triggers the human senses—initiating a “flow” of energy between the art object and the participants. Bringing together highly mathematical principles of music theory, the tones are based loosely on a pentatonic scale, which is often found in traditional Chinese music and sounds as if it shifts fluidly between major and minor tonalities. Multiple layers of sound allow for both range and depth depending on the speed with which a person moves beneath each sensor.

  2021 CODAawards Entry CODAawards 2021 Top 100

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  Helix

  An interactive beacon of light that generates light effects as you move beneath it Based on the dimensions of the golden ratio, Jen Lewin developed HELIX, a series of twenty-four spires laid out in the form of a nautilus shell, twisting upward. When you interact with this work, it creates an immersive environment that almost seems to envelop you in flames of rainbow light. We see the golden ratio all around us in nature—from the nautilus shell, to the petals of a lily, spiral galaxies, hurricane patterns, and even the ratios of human faces. Artists have used this mathematical principle throughout art history, and its proportions were mathematically approximated by the Italian mathematician known as Fibonacci. Lewin is interested in this form because it demonstrates how math prevails throughout the natural and built worlds, and how we as humans are drawn to the beauty found within our environments, and ourselves.

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  Sidewalk Harp

  Sidewalk Harp in Minneapolis, MN changes a city street and it's community through light and sound.

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  The Aurora

  Existing at the intersection of art and technology, The Aurora is a 29-foot-tall, 720-pound experiential sculpture in which both human interaction and weather factors create swirling patterns of color and light. The title of Lewin’s work references the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights—naturally occurring light phenomena that are visible in the northern sky during fall and winter months. Inspired by the beauty and complexity of these organic light forms, Lewin programmed her work to change color based on the weather in Minneapolis. In addition, visitors can shoot light through the sculpture with their motions—underscoring the dynamic interactions between people and environment. Below The Aurora are eight platforms that respond to touch, encouraging visitors to actively participate in an ever-changing composition. The Aurora features hundreds of color palettes with over 8,000 LEDs that are programmed to reflect the seasons and live weather conditions in Minneapolis. The artwork consists of 23,000 aluminum rings formed into a wispy, honeycomb-like structure that evokes the solar wind patterns that create the Aurora Borealis in real life. 2,667 hand-blown glass bulbs are attached to the structure, each with three light-emitting diodes inside.

  2021 CODAawards Entry

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  The Ceiling Element

  Session Kitchen was inspired by the ‘sessions’ and the ‘flow and motion’ found in the cultures of action sports, music and street art. Hundreds of recycled florescent bulbs act as diffusing shades clustered around custom made controlled LED light strips. The LEDs have been programed to act as a video wall.

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  The Edison Cloud [2012]

  Composed of 5000 hand welded metal rings, 3000 vintage Edison bulbs, 3000 hand glued white LEDS, 3000 custom cables and over 60 custom controllers, The Edison Cloud represents both an old-fashioned handmade and new mentality. By walking under and around The Edison Cloud you will see a ghostly and low resolution version of your shadow within the sculpture. This provides an experience where the movement of your body brings both beauty and form to glass and digital clouds.

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  The Last Ocean

  THE LAST OCEAN, created by American contemporary artist, Jen Lewin, explores the crisis of plastic pollution in our oceans, a warming planet, dwindling natural resources, and the need for aggressive systemic change. How do we address and mitigate the issues our planet faces as a global community? The installation, an expansive landscape of interactive platforms, is illuminated by community engagement. Created from reclaimed ocean plastic, this work evokes a luminesce ice field composed of geometric tessellations that form the glacial body of Antarctica. During the day, the platforms will highlight the transformation of reclaimed ocean plastic; their surfaces a swirl of blue and white particulates. At night, The Last Ocean will glow vibrant with interactive light. Cycling through a palette of curated colors, the platforms will react as participants splash and dance in the waves of light, illuminating the powerful nature of our oceans.

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  The Magical Harp

  The Magical Harp is a permanent, outdoor interactive instrument played by passing your body through the 24 low-voltage diode LEDs that shine from the top of the delicate arch to the ground. Much like plucking the string of a harp, passing through the beams triggers custom circuitry and sensors to produce musical notes. Users play to create an ambiance that is individual to the moment of interaction that reflects the broad idea of play that’s still fun and sophisticated.When crowds flock to it and people start to play independently, the group’s participation in a musical symphony.

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  The Pool

  The Pool is an environment of giant, concentric circles created from interactive circular pads that can span up to a quarter of an acre. By entering The Pool, you enter a world where play and collaborative movement create swirling effects of light and color. As multiple users play in The Pool, their interactions become mesmerizing patterns of shifting and fading colors. Part of Jen Lewin's 'Have Art, Will Travel' program, The Pool has traveled the world since 2012. It was built and designed specifically to pack into crates and ship worldwide really easily.

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  The Ursa's

  “The Ursas” stand as symbols of unity, hope, and remembrance, reminding us to cherish the world around us. A new transformative project inspired by the grace and wonder of the Ursa Major and Minor constellations. Ursa Minor stands at 13 feet tall, a luminous embodiment of serenity crafted from Infinity Mirrors. This free-standing sculpture invites contemplation and engages viewers with its delicate choreography of infinity-reflected LED lights. Inspired by the celestial splendor of Polaris and Ursa Minor, the sculpture’s multi-paneled body emanates a radiant glow, evoking emotions of awe, reverence, and a gentle reminder to cherish the world around us by simply looking up. Standing nearby, Ursa Major stands towering at 26 feet. Created from reclaimed ocean plastic trash and in a display of contemplation, Ursa Major’s hollow body becomes a vessel for glowing infinity mirrors, reflecting an ethereal mosaic of vintage biological drawings depicting animals that have vanished from our world within the past three years. Together, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor stand as beacons of unity and compassion. Ursa Minor gazes skyward, embodying a hopeful spirit, while Ursa Major serves as both a sanctuary and a memorial, paying homage to the irreplaceable species we have lost.

  2024 CODAawards Entry