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UROS ISLAND #3

2011

UROS ISLAND  by Grimanesa Amoros

UROS ISLAND #3, 2011, LEDs, diffusion material, handmade silkscreens, custom lighting sequence, electrical hardware.
24″ × 45.5″ × 8″ (0.61 m × 1.16 m × 0.20 m)

The Uros Islands are floating islets that are made entirely out of totora reeds; giant plant stalks. The Uros are pre-Incan people who have lived on these floating islands for over 3,000 years. They’ve built their houses, boats, and watchtowers entirely with these bundles of dried totora reeds.

The Uros people have to maintain these floating islands on a daily basis, or it will rot, sink, and their homes will cease to exist. By watching how the Uros people adapt to changes constantly, it made me view life as ephemeral; things come and go.

Grimanesa Amorós UROS ISLAND 3, 24 x 45.5 x 8-inch light sculpture made of LEDs, diffusion material, and custom lighting sequence, interpreting the floating totora reed islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Puno, Peru, who have built their homes, boats, and watchtowers entirely from dried totora reeds for over 3,000 years, meditating on the ephemeral nature of existence. Light sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós, 2011.
Grimanesa Amoros video thumbnail for UROS ISLAND #3
Grimanesa Amorós UROS ISLAND 3, 24 x 45.5 x 8-inch light sculpture made of LEDs, diffusion material, and custom lighting sequence, interpreting the floating totora reed islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Puno, Peru, who have built their homes, boats, and watchtowers entirely from dried totora reeds for over 3,000 years, meditating on the ephemeral nature of existence. Light sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós, 2011.
UROS ISLAND #3, 2011, New York, NY
Grimanesa Amorós UROS ISLAND 3, 24 x 45.5 x 8-inch light sculpture made of LEDs, diffusion material, and custom lighting sequence, interpreting the floating totora reed islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Puno, Peru, who have built their homes, boats, and watchtowers entirely from dried totora reeds for over 3,000 years, meditating on the ephemeral nature of existence. Light sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós, 2011.
UROS ISLAND #3, 2011, New York, NY
Grimanesa Amorós UROS ISLAND 3, 24 x 45.5 x 8-inch light sculpture made of LEDs, diffusion material, and custom lighting sequence, interpreting the floating totora reed islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Puno, Peru, who have built their homes, boats, and watchtowers entirely from dried totora reeds for over 3,000 years, meditating on the ephemeral nature of existence. Light sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós, 2011.
UROS ISLAND #3, 2011, New York, NY