AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

As Above, So Below is a collaboration between Macon Reed and Beam Projects including two large-scale site-specific works and a series of workshops to help young people process their experiences of the pandemic. After Beam Projects selected the project design and commissioned it for their 2023 program, they worked closely with Reed to develop a curriculum enabling 80 campers (ages 8-17) to build out the project. 

The title, “As Above, So Below,” connects the world we see to the world beneath our feet, the ground we stand on. Both sculptures have cave-like forms (stalactites and stalagmites) built into them, one is a treehouse hovering over the lake (“As Above”), and the other is a floating cave form with an active campfire built into its center (“So Below”). 

Viewers climb a ladder through the cave forms at the base of the treehouse, emerging into a platform designed for stargazing both night and day. Campers designed their own personal constellations using LED lights to line the inside of the platform dome with “stars” visible during the daytime. Looking outward from the platform, the floating cave is visible on the lake below, connecting “above” to “below.” 

To reach the floating sculpture, viewers ride in groups inside homemade catamarans built by Beam. From these vessels, they step onto the floating platform to find a campfire lit in the center, floating safely above the water. Each visitor was asked to reflect on something they wanted to let go of from the pandemic time, writing it on paper and releasing it into the flames.

Throughout the summer, campers participated in discussions about what helped them through the pandemic and fostered resilience. They created personal sculptures placed in alcoves built into the stalactites throughout the installation, each of these small objects sharing a piece of their story.