The Rainbow Whorls Color Spectrum Stairwell Sculpture is a six-story visual art installation located on the campus of Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C. The installation comprises hundreds of parallel strands of brightly colored paracord spanning the empty space at the center of a stairwell in the lower middle school building. Each strand is secured to the stair railing at both ends. Viewed from above, the installation is a graceful spiral descending through the color spectrum, its gradient transitions from one vivid hue to the next illuminated by large windows on one side of the stair. A larger-than-life three-dimensional form plotted into the void of the stairwell, the result of meticulous planning and doggedly repetitive knotting, the sculpture is nevertheless very much the work of human hands, and organically enlivens the high-traffic space it occupies. 

River and Alex of Tree Weaves have installed a climbing net in another area of the GDS campus, and the Color Spectrum Stairwell uses materials and techniques informed by their extensive experience building innovative Tree Weaves. In a unique move for the partners, the Stairwell was conceived as a visual, rather than interactive, piece. However, it is intended to be a high-utility work in its own way. Although it has no certified safety features, the artists' hope is that the sheer number of paracord strands in the sculpture will help prevent dangerous falls in the six-story stairwell, whether accidental or intentional. Mindful that youth suicide rates are currently startlingly high in our society, River and Alex believe that something as simple as a protective barrier effectively enclosing an open space with a long drop can go a great length toward preventing impulsive acts of self-harm. Additionally, they hope that the rainbow hues of the Color Spectrum Stairwell signal to both GDS students and the greater community that the school is a progressive institution that strongly supports its LGBTQ+ members. 

Click here to check out the Instagram Hashtag for this Tree Weaves Installation! If you ever take photos of this net and share them on Instagram or Twitter, be sure to use the hashtag 

#RainbowWhorls

Here’s a list of some of the colors used, in order of appearance:

Goldenrod