A Mirrored Cabin in the California Desert

American artist Phillip K Smith has taken an abandoned desert shack in Joshua Tree National Forest, in the deserts of California, and transformed it into a stunning optical illusion art called "Lucid Stead." The artist took the cabin that has been slowly rotting in the harsh desert environments for seventy years, added mirrors between aged wood slats and created an illusion that you can see right through the building.

"Lucid Stead is about tapping into the quiet and the pace of change of the desert," said Smith. "When you slow down and align yourself with the desert, the project begins to unfold before you. It reveals that it is about light and shadow, reflected light, projected light, and change."

The door and windows of the building are also fitted with color changing LEDs which after dark, change into brightly colored rectangles illuminating the desert landscape. By day, the desert scenery is reflected upon the mirrors making the cabin barely visible.

"The colour of the door and window openings are set at a pace of change where one might question whether they are actually changing colours," said Smith. "One might see blue, red, and yellow... and continue to see those colours. But looking down and walking ten feet to a new location reveals that the windows are now orange, purple and green.”