Those venturing into Sayles Hall this spring might notice an unusually cloudy ceiling atop the portrait-lined walls. Visitors can now experience the building’s main hall in a new light — literally — thanks to interdisciplinary artist Sanford Biggers’s new installation, “Unsui (Cloud Forest).”
“Unsui (Cloud Forest)” — which means “clouds and water” in Japanese — boasts 10 glowing cloud sculptures suspended from the rafters of Sayles. Biggers told The Herald that each cloud is constructed from LED lights with the ability to change color, dim brightness and “dance” in displays of light to illuminate the interior of the hall.
Biggers largely drew the inspiration for this installation from Sayles itself, he said.
“I was really interested in working with the aerial space within the interior of the hall,” Biggers said. When he first toured the hall, he said, he was especially intrigued by the floor and the ceiling.
Sayles houses a portrait gallery for some of the University’s most influential presidents and historical figures, which posed a challenge for the installation. Avoiding disruption of existing works required careful planning, according to Kate Kraczon, director of exhibitions and chief curator for the Brown Arts Institute.
“One of the most brilliant things about this piece is that Sanford intentionally doesn’t interfere with the sight lines of the portraits,” Kraczon said. “Instead of doing any type of intervention with the portrait exhibition, he moved it to the ceiling.”
Biggers said he sought to create something that would coexist with, rather than compete with, the hall’s historic and artistic legacy.
“I wanted to do something that could live in that space and claim its own space within it,” he said.
Nicole Wholean, university curator and registrar at the Brown Arts Institute, described the installation as “transformational and playful” in an email to The Herald.
“Viewers are encouraged to look up and see cartoonish clouds hang from massive buttresses,” Wholean wrote. “In a space otherwise formal, the clouds add whimsy and light.”
Biggers explained that clouds and their ever-changing nature have always acted as a metaphor for “limitless, boundless, formless reference” throughout his work. For this reason, he said, he hopes that the piece sparks deeper reflection among viewers beyond its visual intrigue.
To Wholean, “Unsui (Cloud Forest)” reflects the fluidity of Brown’s Open Curriculum.
“It adds a very comic book kind of effect,” said Chuyu Xiong GS, a graduate student studying art history. “I really like how it contrasts the classical oil paintings and everything else here.”
Emily Walsh ’28 was surprised to see the cartoon clouds appear in Sayles.
“Before I saw any news about the installation, I thought it was for a play or some sort of performance,” Walsh said. “But I think it’s a very cool addition to the space.”
“Unsui (Cloud Forest)” isn’t the first light-centered installation to make its way onto Brown’s public art scene. Several existing contemporary installations on campus, such as Leo Villareal’s “Infinite Composition” in the lobby of the Lindemann Performing Arts Center and “2 x 5 (brothers)” by realities:united in the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, also integrate light.
“Brown’s public art collection spans from antiquity to present day,” Wholean wrote. “This piece complements those works.”
Biggers hopes viewers of “Unsui (Cloud Forest)” come away with “a moment of pause and a moment of meditation.”
“I hope it allows the viewers to let their minds and their associations run free, and to bring new ideas into the piece itself,” he said.
