eekuawlim takes its inspiration from the ice shards that develop near the shores of Lake Michigan as the lake transitions from winter to spring and the ice begins to melt. During this change of seasons waves below the surface push the broken pieces of ice against one another, making beautiful formations of stacked ice.

Jay Yan captures how the lights from Milwaukee reflect back on the ice shards through the use of 7688 individually color printed and laser cut pieces of stainless steel. He chose the colors for the piece based upon one of Milwaukee’s most unique features.

“The colors were chosen based on the different public artworks around the city. I was inspired by the art, which can be found all over the city. The beautiful colors bring such life and energy to the community that I wanted to capture that in the piece. You can see certain colors of the public artworks reflected in the individual pieces and in its final composition.”

Yan wrote custom software that uses the principles of artificial intelligence (AI) to create thousands of variations of the design. From those variations, he chose the design that best met his artistic vision.

The location of eekuawlim within Baird Center also played an important part of the design process. According to Yan, the different colors and movement of the guests affect how the piece looks.

“When people walk by it reflects their image on the scattered pieces. I really hope that people notice that and explore it. If they move back and forth in front of it, they will see how their motion and what they are wearing alters and changes the piece. I am really excited to see when this room is really full of people and how the entire piece transforms.”