Doug Aitken, Mirage Detroit, 2018; courtesy of the artist; image by Doug Aitken Workshop
Artist Doug Aitken is preparing to unveil his latest architectural installation –set a mirrored house inside Detroit’s former State Savings Bank.
Mirage Detroit is a site-specific sculpture by the Station to Station artist that will take the form of a single-storey suburban dwelling, fitted with a maze of reflective rooms that turn it into a ‘human scale kaleidoscope’.
The structure will reflect the surrounding architecture of the 70,000 sq ft Beaux-Arts bank, designed by New York firm McKim, Mead and White, which was abandoned for decades before developer Bedrock saved the historic 1900 structure from demolition. It has recently emerged from renovation and retains its arched Roman colonnades, decorative cornices and vast vaults.
Natural light will be blocked from the building for the duration of the installation, which opens on 10 October, to create a surreal artificial world, with lighting design by Andi Watson. The bank’s marble floor will also be covered in river rock and earth.
Aitken has previously installed a ‘mirage’ house in desert for Palm Springs art festival Desert X.
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