Mike McKay: Singularities

Mike McKay is interested in architectural conditions and how space can be perceived, altered, and interpreted. His installations using metal and formed plastic elements create fluctuating fields and torqued forms, and he has repeatedly investigated perspective by applying reflective vinyl to existing interiors in order to produce interactive optical encounters.

He states, “Architectural illusion and perspectival deceptions have been investigated since antiquity in order to alter the perception of a given space. My intention has been to investigate how these ideas can be directed toward the production of unexpected cognitive juxtapositions and new social relationships.”

With Singularities, McKay takes on a gallery space and passageway at the Museum, exploiting their proximity and, in essence, reimagining their solidity. He has fabricated an elaborate arcade-like wooden structure, and applied metallic and painted surfaces to it and surrounding planes.  As viewers enter his installation, they will find themselves navigating an environment that shifts between physical fact and perceptual experience.

McKay is an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Design. He received a BA in architecture from the University of Kentucky and an MA in architecture from Princeton University.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.