Double Negative

Kelly Akashi (b. 1983, Los Angeles, California) lives and works in Los Angeles.

Double Negative is a 25-foot-tall sculpture made of two laser-cut Cor-Ten steel doilies. A doily is a domestic textile often associated with care and labor. By translating this delicate, fragile lace pattern into heavy industrial steel at a massive scale, the artist forces a domestic, private history into a very public, imposing space. The two forms are mounted upright on concrete bases and slightly curved toward each other so they meet at the top, creating an open passageway that visitors can walk through.