“Experiencing the world from home, we look through all sorts of windows to the outside – the windows of the room, of screens, of books. A window is a square horizon.” Olafur Eliasson, 2020

A window is a square horizon presents a new body of work which continues Streader’s investigations of light and space in a minimal 2D and sculptural context, drawing from previous explorations of colour, perspective and optical phenomena. The exhibition examines interior and exterior space through geometric abstraction and distortion. A window is a square horizon considers a future where these spaces might only exist as memory, reshaped by one’s experience and perception of these worlds through the structural and psychological boundaries of windows.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Streader used Google Street View and documentation sourced online to respond to various architectural structures or details such as windows, doors, glass and facades from a collection of sites located within the Melbourne CBD. Evocative of stained-glass treatments, the works present unique geometric abstractions through layers of light and glass fragments.

The works presented in A window is a square horizon explore line, colour and distortion through light and leadlight glass panels to trace and preserve the memory of each site. Through variations of the square, angling and offsetting materials and pattern, this new series aims to reveal the shifting and unstable nature of perception through visual disorientation.

Meagan Streader’s work pushes the limits of light within sculpture and installation. Streader manipulates, reinterprets and extends upon the boundaries of constructed spaces. Through site-specific interventions and sculptures, her multidimensional use of light re-orientates the viewer’s relationship to the pre-existing architecture and scale of a given space. In this way, Streader’s work reveals the pervasive role of light in governing physical and social navigations of fabricated spaces.

The development of this work has been supported by the City of Melbourne COVID-19 arts grants.