Candy Stripe takes its pattern from a swatch of upholstery fabric. At the Domino Sugar Factory site, the stripe runs horizontally, mimicking the motion of the traffic alongside it.
The stripes come together as a flat geometric pattern at the south end of the wall and move with traffic up Kent Avenue where the pattern optically runs into an existing pole, halting its movement and contorting it into a pileup of fabric folds and wrinkles. The optical effect of the pattern becoming a recognizable image of loose fabric in a three-dimensional space creates illusions of movement and volume that push up against the flatness of the wall and shifts the scale of the viewer’s perception.
Inspired by decorative patterns found in clothing, upholstery fabric, and wallpaper, MacDonald manipulates familiar domestic patterns, enlarging them to engage with the architecture and environment of the installation site. Her installations are made with a combination of hand painting and by drawing and cutting large scale stencils.