SUNSET is a large scale site
specific land art work. It uses a simple geometric circular form with repeated
components to create a stunning amplification of the sky, based on the spiral
Fibonacci sequence of a sunflower head. Originally created for Sculpture by the
Sea Cottesloe in 2022, the work presents a flexible installation that can be
reconfigured in size, pattern and shape to suit any given site.
A field of 1001 stainless steel
mirror discs mounted on steel rods are oriented east-west, to reflect the daily
sunrise and sunset, giving an ever-changing experience based on the time of
day, season and viewing angle. The work provides an ephemeral and immersive work
designed to interact with its surrounding context, as a celebration of the
natural environment and coastal landscape. The work becomes part of the
landscape and draws the viewer's attention to the elemental nature of the sky -
rich with colour, texture and changing light. Using light as a sculptural
material the work disappears into the view, and offers audiences a constantly changing
experience which is unique to each viewer.
The work is made in the spirit of
land art and environmental art, and specifically alludes to the form and
geometry of large scale solar panel arrays. With an interest in catalysing
dialogue around the climate crisis, climate activism in art and our
relationship to environmental infrastructure, the work prompts the audience to
consider how our response to climate change can provide beauty, intimacy and
connection to the natural world.
Made at a size of 10m diameter, the work comprises 1001x 116mmø folded 316
stainless steel mirror discs mounted on 5mmø 316 stainless rods which sit 420-570mm
above ground. Conceived as a spiral array pattern based on the Fibonacci
sequence found in a sunflower head, the work appears to sprout up from the
ground, with mirrors oriented along a north-south axis to reflect sunrise and
sunset. This simple form, created by a series of repeated parts, allows a large
scale work that constantly changes, depending on the time of day and position
of the viewer. The colours and reflections shift as you move around the work,
mimicking the reflections of the sun or light on the surface of water. The work
is designed to be almost invisible, like a mirage, a floating field of
reflections. The work pixelates the environment and can be experienced at close
range, with a human scale to its individual parts, or from afar, blending with
the landscape.
Photography by Mark Brierley / MB Images
