UROS HOUSE

UROS HOUSE  in Times Square, New York

Location: The Armory Show | Times Square, NY, 2011
Media: Stainless steel, diffusion material and reflective material, LEDs, custom lighting sequence, and electrical hardware
Dimensions: 7 ft x 7 ft x 12 ft.

Growing up on the coast of Lima, Peru has given Amorós an appreciation and love for the ocean, from the colors to the bubbles and the foam that would develop from the roughness of the waves crashing. Amorós strongly connects to bodies of water from this deeply rooted part of her upbringing.

Off the coast of Puno, Peru, are the Uros Islands – floating islets made of totora reeds natively grown in the Lake’s water. These reeds are essential to these islands and their inhabitants. They use it for housing, to create boats and watch towers, and even for storing fish. The piece UROS HOUSE, was born from her childhood fascination and visiting this Lake high in the mountains.

The lighting sculpture was mounted to a secured structure on Duffy Square within the iconic New York City Times Square, embodying the beauty of the sea foam with its lighting sequence, representing the popping of bubbles while maintaining the traditional technique and shape of the Uros island’s houses. The structure will seemingly arise from the ground as if it were one with the earth.

Description: The Armory Show, Times Square Alliance, and Nina Menocal Gallery present Uros House, a lighting sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós, during the Armory Arts Week in New York City’s Times Square.

The exhibition of large-scale work by Amorós is possible with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Please click here to read more about the project.