Unsurprisingly, this formal manifestation is in part a calling card, and the piece carries the viewer beyond its elegant silver frame. Symptomatic of Raqs’ work, the curves are conceptually bent, and spring from the history of its surrounding city, Lincoln. Raqs found resonance with George Boole (1815–1864), a particularly intriguing 19th-century Lincoln resident and autodidact. His affection for “thinking about thinking” drove Raqs’ project. Here, the portal analogy becomes clearer; Perhaps intends to offer, and take the viewer on a route through, elements of Boole’s questions and his noted treaty, “An Investigation into the Laws of Thought,” published in 1854. The shape of the installation can be equated with “logic gates,” which are derived from Boolean algebra and is a founding principal of computer programming, and refocuses the city toward this impressive character.

Presenting this portal on a site where Boole surely would have walked through and inhabited is eloquent, and it encourages the city to reflect upon itself. This is, however, more than an obsequious homage to a fierce mind and—as can be expected from Raqs’ practice—it has a critical edge. The piece plays with Boole’s logic, and attempts to convolute the impossibly seductive clarity of “yes” and “no” solutions. As Monica Narula, one third of Raqs, stated in an informal talk surrounding the installation of Perhaps, the structure is meant to open things up and ask, “What happens when you have ‘perhaps?’”

This interest in uncertainty, slippage and the thrill of in-between states is a preoccupation for Raqs. It is foundational to their very existence as a collective of three, which allows them to embrace multitudes, and the challenge of navigating varied perspectives is inherent in their practice. This willful complexity strengthens the pool-side portal in Lincoln, yet it also risks making the work hard to penetrate. The piece deserves close and considered attention, which is not necessarily congenial for a public art commission and a diverse audience.

When in close proximity, Perhaps is a mesmeric form that appears to hover above the gravelly ground; yet it struggles to extend its lure. From a distance, the precise architecture of the work remains as enigmatic as its source of inspiration, George Boole. It is hard, however, to imagine that from the other side of the pool, a concrete catwalk lined with restaurants, cafes and hotels, the piece will have impact.

This portal rising on the contour of the University of Lincoln, therefore, seems to self-select its audience. It is undisputable that Raqs’ incessant dynamism is displayed in the work; and it is resolutely strong, precisely because of this uncompromising capacity and will to disrupt, play and pull ideas apart. However, whether this energy and excellence successfully translates to a public context needs to be considered. The piece must work hard, and it will be interesting to see how, over time, the city responds, and whether the piece’s glint will remain. Judging from snippets of overheard conversation, it already seems lamentable that this is only a two-month-long, summertime fling.

Raqs Media Collective’s Perhaps (An Investigation Outside the Laws of Thought) is currently on view at Brayford Pool, Lincoln, England, until September 8, 2016.