Sun, moon, water, sky, earth, star; these are the words that shape the circular component of Holt’s concrete poem. The poem alludes to the cosmos as it is contained by the various frames and reflections of the earth below, from the human eye, to a pool of water, to the lens of a camera. Human perception of the cosmos and its earthly accomplices are the driving force behind the larger part of Holt’s oeuvre. In this early work, Holt manages to fit her most influential concepts within the confines of a circle.

Sun Tunnels is an earthwork composed of four concrete cylinders, each measuring eighteen feet in length and nine feet in diameter, installed in an X-shaped configuration in the Great Basin Desert. The work situates the human body within vast geological and astronomical systems, foregrounding perception as a primary sculptural medium. The four structures are precisely aligned to frame the rising and setting sun during the summer and winter solstices.