Maybe It’s Better We Don’t Know is a site-specific, temporary, public art proposal that seeks to engage public commentary on the volume of wasted light from urban light pollution as part of the Ontario Place Winter Light Exhibition 2018 Call for Submissions.

The work is a site-weathered 30 foot linear ‘skin’ of custom fire-burnt steel sheets that are layered and fastened at various angles to a modular, welded steel frame creating a darkened interior space that visitors may enter to experience the contrast of the exterior urban night glow.

With the design inspired by the curatorial theme Disruptive Engagement, the experience of the installation questions the effects on the human psyche as a result of our living daily under the veneer of an ever-present light glow. When did an experience of the true night sky become a rare attraction? When did we agree to allow lighting design to disrupt our connection to the stars and galaxies above, or to eliminate the need for celestial skills and the sharing of sky myths that use to guide our daily lives? What have we lost when the progress of contemporary life has undermined the common sense of humility and awe that we once experienced by staring deep into a dark sky to imagine the vastness of the universe?