Standing Wave — An installation by Jenn E. Norton

Standing Wave is a multichannel installation that draws upon natural phenomena, such as cloud formations, paired with pareidolia and surrealist imagery to explore emotional and mental states of being. The title derives from the phenomenon of clouds forming above mountains, known as standing wave clouds or lenticular clouds, which indicate that rain is imminent. Observers often mistake these clouds for UFOs because of their smooth, saucer-like shapes. A standing wave is a vibrational pattern that occurs when two waves oscillate at the same frequency and amplitude but move in opposite directions, interfering with one another. At certain points, the amplitude is zero; at others, it reaches its maximum. Norton employs this occurrence as a metaphor in a long-form animation in which clouds transform and morph through representations of places, people, animals, and objects, as a rolling thought process of hypnagogic visions.