Pentimento

The garden at the Department of the Coroner provides a place of respite for a facility that navigates the terrain between forensics and loss. In designing an artwork for this space, artist Erin Shie Palmer aimed to provide a meditative focal point for staff and visitors. In many cultures, bells are used to call people together, to express joy, to mark the passage of time, and to signal a period of mourning. The 300 individually, hand-blown, glass bells in the artwork create an auditory and visual experience for the viewer. Each bell creates a distinct note. They are arranged in a random pattern and at different distances from the wall to suggest movement. When the wind blows, a gentle chorus is created in a wash of blue to evoke images of moving water.

About the Artist
Erin Shie Palmer is a visual artist and an architect who has worked in a variety of site-specific venues, including gallery installations, public art, theater design, and architecture. She creates physical and psychological topographies by examining how interactions affect one another and seeks to map and preserve relationships.