Figures

Finally got around to taking photos of ‘Recumbent Figure (Taking a Line for a Walk in Cartesian Space)’. Reclaimed mild steel 107cm high x 180cm wide x 75cm deep (42″ x 71″ x 30″).

The original intention is pasted below, but since completion, I’ve come to the conclusion that this piece is primarily about inviting the viewer to analyse the positive and negative spaces in the piece in order to decide what is ‘figure’ and what is ‘ground’.

We do this all the time in the 2D world. We draw an outline on a piece of paper and the viewer automatically differentiates between what is ‘inside’ the line (figure) and what is outside (ground), even though it’s all still the same piece of blank paper. This sculpture tries to do the same thing in 3D space, although it’s a lot tougher on the viewer!

This piece is based on the well-known Paul Klee quote that ‘Drawing is taking a line for a walk. In this piece I’m trying to take the line for a walk in 3D Cartesian space (x, y and z axes) in order to evoke a reclining female figure and – hopefully – provide just enough clues for an observer to work out what it is.

The intention is to suggest planes and volumes without actually using any so that the observer is invited to quite literally ‘fill in the gaps’. On circling the figure, the hope is that certain familiar shapes will offer themselves for recognition whilst other – previously recognised shapes – will ‘disappear’ as they are seen from different angles (playing with ideas of focus versus peripheral vision)