AIRK Kobe, Japan

October-November 2025
AIRK
Kobe, Japan
https://airk.haaymm.org/index_en.html

I had such a wonderful experience at AIRK. If you are thinking about applying and have any questions, please message me.

MA NO KAGE
SPACE BETWEEN THE SHADOWS
11.03.25-11.30.25
at Kitano Museum
Kobe, Japan

Color film installation visualizing a poem I wrote inspired by the haiku form and time spent in Kobe, Japan during an artist residency at @airk.kobe

1.
The sun never knew
The color of darkness
Before the day arrived

2.
Light enters the room
Folding one line into two
Shadows learn to dance

3.
Light stretches to meet
The space between the shadows
Story becomes form

4.
At the shadows edge
Light bends towards its reflection
Mirrored on the floor

5.
Gray pours into blue
The light holds the darkness and
Darkness meets the light

6.
Dusk, the color of tea
Guides shadow to beauty’s end
The sunlight to sleep

7.
The wall remembers
Where light rested its hand and
Shadows made their home.

8.
The light of the moon
Illuminating the dark
One Shadow, then two

1.
太陽は知らなかった
闇の色を
朝が来るまでは

2.
光が部屋に入り
一本の線を二つに折る
影は踊りを覚える

3.
光は伸びてゆく
影と影のあいだへと
物語が形になる

4.
影の端で
光はその映りゆく姿へと曲がり
床に映し出される

5.
灰が青に溶け
光は闇を抱きしめ
闇は光に出会う

6.
紅茶色の黄昏が
影を美の終わりへ導き
陽の光を眠りへ誘う

7 .
壁は覚えている
光が手を休めた場所を
影が家をつくったところを

8.
月の光が
闇を照して
ひとつの影がふたつに

Translated by @taniataylor ikeda
Curated by @loveartbeauty20200808 and @nobuyasuyoshida
Supported by @cap_art_project and @airk.kobe

Sanctuary Slimane

September, 2022
Sanctuary Slimane
Marrakech, Morocco

Working with Sanctuary Slimane’s master ceramist Adil El Khaoua, Ellie created a 144 piece sundial spanning over 5 meters in diameter.

The design is laid out in sections that each represent an hour of time. There are 16 sections to show all the possible hours of sunlight throughout the year (5am-9pm) in Marrakech, where the work is installed, Brooklyn where Ellie lives, and Verbier Switzerland, a beloved place of Aziz and Sarah.

There are 12 colors in the design. Each specific color represents the summer and winter solstice and the spring and fall equinox for Marrakech, Brooklyn, and Verbier. The yellow colors represent Summer, the orange, red and purple are Fall, the greens are Spring and the blues are Winter. These colors line up to create a central design at the 11am-1pm section of the sundial. The order of the colors are based on the calculation of where the shadow would be casted at noon on the solstice and equinox days in each of the cities.

The colored lines that span out from the central design show the sunrise and sunset times for Marrakech, Brooklyn, and Verbier on the days of the solstice and equinox. For example, on the day of the Fall Equinox in Marrakesh, September 23 (represented as the brightest orange in the design), the lines point to 7:20am sunrise and 7:27pm sunset.

Ellie worked with a local metalsmith to create a gnomon using traditional Moroccan stained glass. The gnomon design and dimensions were based on several factors. The angle of the gnomon is 31 degrees which is the latitude of the place it sits in Marrakech, Morocco. The height of the gnomon was determined by the delineation of the sun on the Solstice and Equinox days. This allows the gnomon to cast a shadow at noon on any solstice or equinox that will line up with the sundial’s design and accurately depict the time. This means that on the Winter Solstice of 2022 on December 21, 2022, the shadow of the sun at noon will reach the outer edge of the light blue in the design.

A rod is welded to the base of the gnomon and fits into a cylinder cemented in the ground. This allows for the gnomon to be pivoted to account for daylight savings time and religious determination of time.

MAGICAL is how I would describe this residency experience. Thank you Sanctuary Slimane for inviting me to your home and supporting this project. <3

https://www.sanctuaryslimane.com