OVERVIEW

Serpent Mother is a giant skeletal serpent sculpture that rises up and spirals down around her egg creating a transformative interactive environment. This installation enables participants to use the primal elements of fire, air, heat, light and motion as a way to transform their fears into hope, to actively unfold creation.

Serpent Mother is constructed from steel, stainless steel, copper, light and fire. The installation spans an area measuring 65’ x 50’. The serpent has a total body length of 168’. She arches up to 20’ and spirals down around her 10’ egg. This installation creates an intimate, warm and engaging gathering space for participants.

The serpent lies at rest during the day, as ambient sounds of growing life scratch through the egg. At dusk, an LED lighting system softly begins to stir the spirit of the serpent. The eyes are brilliant red and the form of the body, illuminated from within, casts shadows on the desert floor. This simple and beautiful lighting system is interactively controlled. The LEDs modulate in intensity and color according to the heartbeat of each participant as they place their hand on a heartbeat sensor, the LEDs harmonically fade and change colors until dawn.

As darkness envelops the landscape, the Serpent fully awakens to an ambient flame down the entire length of her body. The flaming spine can be seen from anywhere on the open playa and burns most of the night. Thirty-one solenoid valves ignite in multiple fiery patterns down her vertebrae. Participants control these through a set of control buttons and motion sensors placed throughout the installation.

The Serpent Mother’s Egg has three distinct states. During the day, the egg is intact and still, emanating ambient noises from within. At nightfall, cracks begin to appear in the eggshell and a hot blue flame burns along the edges of the openings. At its final stage of birth, the egg breaks fully open and a 35-foot high multi-directional liquid fire effect blazes out in fiery birth.