Birefrigence

This accordion-style book does not open in a tradition format, but instead, expands and contracts. It can be “read” in either direction, as the holes in both covers allow for light to pass through. The pages of the book are made of biodegradable cellophane, which shares the same birefringent, or double-refraction properties, of deep ice, and the holes in each cover hold a polarizing filter. When looking through the cover, the clear materials transform with a rainbowing effect, just as sections of the ice core do when being analyzed for their crystallographic structure.

Birefringence, Johnson, VT, 2026. Archival inkjet prints, biodegradable cellophane, polarizing filters, chip board, glue, 4 x 4 x 1.”