Light Between the Islands background by Grimanesa Amoros
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UROS

Grimanesa Amorós UROS, wall-mounted LED sculpture and light sculpture made of diffusion material, and LEDs, emitting a spectrum of glowing hues through a custom lighting sequence referencing the totora reed floating islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Lake Titicaca, Peru. Exhibited in the corridor off the lobby gallery at 21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012.
Grimanesa Amorós UROS, wall-mounted LED sculpture and light sculpture made of diffusion material, and LEDs, emitting a spectrum of glowing hues through a custom lighting sequence referencing the totora reed floating islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Lake Titicaca, Peru. Exhibited in the corridor off the lobby gallery at 21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012.
Grimanesa Amorós UROS, wall-mounted LED sculpture and light sculpture made of diffusion material, and LEDs, emitting a spectrum of glowing hues through a custom lighting sequence referencing the totora reed floating islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Lake Titicaca, Peru. Exhibited in the corridor off the lobby gallery at 21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012.
Grimanesa Amorós UROS, wall-mounted LED sculpture and light sculpture made of diffusion material, and LEDs, emitting a spectrum of glowing hues through a custom lighting sequence referencing the totora reed floating islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Lake Titicaca, Peru. Exhibited in the corridor off the lobby gallery at 21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012.
Grimanesa Amorós UROS, wall-mounted LED sculpture and light sculpture made of diffusion material, and LEDs, emitting a spectrum of glowing hues through a custom lighting sequence referencing the totora reed floating islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Lake Titicaca, Peru. Exhibited in the corridor off the lobby gallery at 21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012.
Grimanesa Amorós UROS, wall-mounted LED sculpture and light sculpture made of diffusion material, and LEDs, emitting a spectrum of glowing hues through a custom lighting sequence referencing the totora reed floating islands of the pre-Incan Uros people of Lake Titicaca, Peru. Exhibited in the corridor off the lobby gallery at 21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012.
Grimanesa Amoros video thumbnail for UROS

Location: 21c Museum Hotel | Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012
7 ft x 5 ft x 1 1/4 ft
Stainless steel, diffusion material and reflective material, LEDs, custom lighting sequence, and electrical hardware.

UROS is a light sculpture installed in the corridor just off the lobby gallery of 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati, its custom LED sequence cycling through a full spectrum of luminous hues that transform the surrounding space and invite viewers into an awareness of site, self, and the ancient Peruvian reed island culture that inspired the work.

  • Part of the Illuminati program at 21c Cincinnati, a curated collection of interactive new media works designed to engage visitors with art, light, space, and one another, UROS was selected by 21c curator Alice Gray Stites, who introduced Amorós’s practice to the institution as one of the most significant voices working at the intersection of technology, cultural heritage, and public art.
  • Originally conceived as a floor installation and part of a series first commissioned by the Issey Miyake flagship store in New York City, UROS was adapted by Amorós specifically for 21c Cincinnati as a wall sculpture, positioned to be visible simultaneously from the elevator lobby and the reception lobby gallery.
  • The work’s glowing hemispheres evoke both the floating totora reed islands of Lake Titicaca and the gas bubbles released by the decomposing reeds beneath the water’s surface, a physical phenomenon that keeps the islands afloat and that Amorós transforms into a metaphor for the invisible forces that sustain culture and community.
  • Installed in the former Metropole Hotel, a 100-year-old Cincinnati landmark restored and reimagined by 21c as a museum hotel dedicated to integrating contemporary art into daily life, UROS connects its Peruvian conceptual origins to a distinctly American architectural history of renewal and transformation.

    • Originally designed to be a floor installation, Uros was adapted to be installed as a wall sculpture at 21c Cincinnati Museum Hotel. A custom-designed lighting sequence changes the color of the piece to emit a spectrum of glowing hues, transforming the surrounding space and engaging viewers in an awareness of site and self, while referencing the Peruvian island environment of Uros.

    Illuminati is a collection of interactive new media projects, designed to engage viewers with art, light, space, and one another. It creates opportunities for visitors to return in order to experience dynamic artworks that change, reflect, and animate their surroundings over time.

    21c Museum Hotel, dedicated to integrating contemporary art into daily life, renovated and restored the 100-year-old former Metropole Hotel in downtown Cincinnati.