The landscape in Texas is dotted with simple sheds that serve as protection from the relentless sun. Many of these sheds are built in corrugated steel. For Showershade, I chose to reinterpret these sheds, with a nod to Renaissance and Baroque ceiling frescos and digital animation.

A large corrugated metal ceiling is perforated with a pattern of cutouts. The cutout images are drawn from video and photos I shot of the police and fire cadets in training. The roof acts as a gobo, filtering the sun and creating an animated pattern on the floor below.  Because the steel is corrugated, the early morning shadows appear stepped, or pixilated. As noon approaches, the shadow images come into sharp focus returning to their abstract condition as the afternoon wears on. The ceiling is held up by a simple steel structure that sits on top of a concrete foundation two feet below grade. Four showers are located on each of the vertical columns along with spigots for filling water bottles. Two industrial fans help to keep the space cool.