Minefield

Post-Industrial / United States of America

Installed in an industrial basement in Old City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Minefield unfolds along a timeline of anthracite dust—geological deep time compressed into particulate form. The installation draws the viewer through near-total darkness toward a precision-cut eggshell, intensely illuminated by a decommissioned U.S. military laser. The path cannot be safely walked.

Entered through an X-cut aperture, the eggshell establishes a condition of containment. Coherent photons strike the interior surface, dispersing and refracting against the thin calcium structure. The confined backscatter causes the shell to appear to optically vibrate, the laser light distorting as the viewer’s eyes adapt to darkness. Perception shifts between material fragility and energetic force, holding the body at a threshold where advance becomes risk. ▧

Close-up of anthracite coal dust arranged on a dark floor surface in Minefield installation, emphasizing granular carbon material under low light

View through Minefield installation space showing laser illumination cutting across a darkened industrial basement floor in Philadelphia

Detail of anthracite particles in Minefield installation, their reflective carbon surfaces catching scattered light

Precision-cut eggshell illuminated by a decommissioned U.S. military laser in Minefield installation, suspended against a dark background

Minefield, c. 2008
Edward Dormer

Installation Art
Minima, Old City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
Representation: InLiquid
In-kind support: Deirdre Egan