hou de sousa suspends the multi-colored 'atomic' installation in georgetown DC

suspended over the lawn of grace church in georgetown DC, ‘atomic’ by hou de sousa is an iridescent installation composed of colorful hula hoops and fishnet fabric. as its name suggests, the bright canopy of color has been realized by the design duo as ‘an ode to the tiny particles that shape our universe, filling an otherwise infinite vacuum with energy, gravity, variety and light.’ on display between december 5, 2019 and january 5, 2020, the work forms part of georgetown GLOW – an annual light art festival.

‘atomic’ is located on the lawn of church in georgetown DC

all images courtesy of hou de sousa

given its proximity to a church, the installation’s multi-hued facets have been designed to establish a contextual link with the stained-glass windows of the neighboring building. additionally, hou de sousa has created ‘atomic’ in reference to the bokeh effect – a phenomenon that occurs when points of light are photographed out of focus. fastened to a custom nylon net, the spectrum of colored hoops appear to float in mid-air, resulting in an eye-catching piece to illuminate the area during the dark winter months. 

composed of hula hoops and fishnet fabric, the project is highly porous and extremely lightweight

the hoops are fastened to a custom nylon net supported by a grove of trees

building a bokeh effect

layers of grids in tension

a tiled bowl tints the surrounding context during daylight hours

a mosaic of colorful cells, ‘atomic’ draws inspiration from the stained-glass windows of the neighboring grace church

project info:

project name: atomic

location: georgetown DC, the US

dates: december 5, 2019 – january 5, 2020

design: hou de sousa

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom