Monolith at dusk

Ribbon of Light

We fabricated the steel bases supporting Horatio Hung-Yan Law’s illuminated glass sculptures for Seattle’s AIDS Memorial Pathway.

Cal Anderson Park · Seattle

Artistic concept: Horatio Hung-Yan Law Steel bases & hardware: Western Iron Works

The project

Artistic concept: Horatio Hung-Yan Law

Steel bases & hardware: Western Iron Works

Location: Cal Anderson Park · Seattle

Artwork completed: 2022

Our part in the project

Building the
steel bases

The glass needed steel support without direct contact between the two materials.

We fabricated the support bases and fitted neoprene shims to keep the glass from touching steel. Monolith and Lambda are mounted without bolts through the glass.

For Reverie, the curved sculpture, we also machined the custom stainless steel hardware visible through the stacked glass. The stainless caps were custom designed and machined to require special tooling for removal.

Custom stainless capsMachined to require special tooling for removal.

Neoprene shimsKeep the glass from touching the steel.

Cal Anderson Park

The finished
sculptures

The glass forms sit along a landscaped path in the northeast corner of the park. Their translucent surfaces change with the daylight; at night, lighting beneath the glass brings the forms into view.

Two angled glass forms meet above a planted bed, forming Lambda in Cal Anderson Park. — Lambda in daylight

Reverie, the curved stacked glass sculpture, with visible stainless hardware and caps; visitors and Monolith are in the background. — Reverie · Custom stainless hardware and machined caps

The artist’s vision

About
Ribbon of Light

Part of The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway, Ribbon of Light creates places to remember people lost to HIV/AIDS and reflect on the communities shaped by the epidemic.

Horatio Hung-Yan Law drew on writing by poets affected by HIV/AIDS. He imagined fragments of sky coming down to earth. Words etched into the glass invite visitors to look closely and spend time with the work.

In Lambda, two leaning forms support one another, expressing mutual support and the strength of LGBTQ activism.

About Horatio Hung-Yan Law

Born in Hong Kong, Law moved to the United States at sixteen. His public art explores identity, memory and cultural experience, often through collaboration with the communities connected to each site.

The memorial at night