ILLUMINATING ALS
On view at The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia PA.
A public opening will be held on Saturday January 31st from 1-4 PM in the Heim Center for Cultural and Civic Engagement at Parkway Central Library. It will feature resource sharing, remarks from community members and collaborators, and light refreshments. This installation will remain open for public viewing through March 27th, 2026.
Picture This:
A 16x16 LED matrix grid made up of 8 inch portraits, each square a window into the soul of an ALS patient. The lithophanes, vibrant at the top, fade into oblivion as they descend, just like the cruel progression of the disease itself.
The lights?
They're not just lights. They’re the flickering neurons, the connections that keep us moving, thinking, and living. But here, they die out, one by one. Silhouettes of the fallen drag the illuminated squares into the void, a relentless march of loss and decay.
This isn't about pity.
It's about seeing—truly seeing—the silent, creeping theft that is ALS. It's a call to feel the weight of it, to grasp the fragility of our own existence, and to find empathy in the shared human experience of inevitable decline. Interpret it as you will, but know this: every flicker, every shadow, is a story of a life interrupted.