Spinning Shaft is one of a number of works by the Sinas that exploits Alejandro Sina’s development of a method for using neon lights with minimal amounts of wiring and power supply.
In Spinning Shaft coloured neon lights are attached to a shaft that spins at a constant speed. The lights are pulsed on and off in a number of computercontrolled pre-set patterns, in a cycle that lasts several minutes.
The light sculpture produces spectacular and mesmerizing optical effects. Works such as Spinning Shaft combine elements of kinetic and light art with digital technology to great effect.
Alejandro & Moira Sina create kinetic lightworks that use electricity, glass and luminous gases.
Their work—much of it made for architectural and public spaces—requires viewer participation ranging from pressing a switch to clapping hands to simply touching an artwork to activate the light.
Alejandro Sina developed a new technique for using neon that eliminates bulky wiring apparatus and power supplies, thereby allowing the neon to be put into motion. A native of Chile, he travelled to the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1973 and worked for six years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Advanced Visual Studies.
He and his wife Moira have worked as a team since 1977. They have received and executed numerous commissions, including a hanging sculpture made of 1,000 red neon tubes for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Alewife Station in North Cambridge, Massachusetts.
