Over Ruled

Over Ruled is a large-scale installation by lead artist Cody Smith. From a distance, 12-foot letters in bold red command "NO DANCING"; up close, they carry personal stories of imprisonment, expulsion, and banishment — confronting how rules fall hardest on people of color and arguing for restorative over punitive justice. The letters are house paint on retired billboard vinyl, suspended on a steel frame eight feet up; at night, lighting throws the enlarged shadows of dancing participants across the text. It debuted at Burning Man 2023 (Black Rock City Honoraria) and was later installed in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park as part of the Golden Mile Project.

I was the lighting lead. I designed the fixtures — a set of hexagonal "hexbox" lights modeled digitally and then CNC-cut — and coordinated a team of around seven volunteers to cut and assemble the boxes, cutting and building them alongside the crew. The result is the ground lighting that casts dancers' shadows up onto the letters and makes the piece come alive after dark.