• Hangar 2: entrance to Refuge in center
  • Inside Hangar 2: the entrance to Refuge
  • Refuge: gridded entryway
  • Refuge entryway debris
  • Refuge entryway debris
  • Refuge entry curtain
  • Refuge interior
  • Refuge interior
  • Refuge lamp
Ingrid Lahti - Refuge

installation

Part of Objects in Hangar 2, a Seattle Arts Commission Exhibition at former Sand Point Naval Station, Seattle. Curator: Sean Elwood.

Refuge consisted of two rooms: an entry and an inner chamber. Dimensions: approx. 20'w x 13'h x 50'd.

In the gridded entryway to Refuge (which also served to keep viewers from the electrical fuse boxes) a 12-minute audio loop played continuously. The sound consisted of a painful dialogue between two voices, with an ever-shifting balance of power exposing fear, hurt, anger, and other painful emotions.

In the blocked-off sections to the sides of the entryway, shattered glass and other tension-inducing debris littered the floor.

Through the curtains, the inner chamber was lit by a chandelier made from 58 amber glass lamps gathered from thrift stores, which gave a warm, comforting glow, illuminating the full ton of river rocks on the floor. The massive, natural presence of the rocks gave a feeling of groundedness and security. The continuous sound of a mountain stream blocked out the painful audio from the entryway with its comforting, Arcadian flow.