Sømærke
Proposal: Ben Allen, Ricardo Gomes and Lise Kassow
4 - 20 March 2016
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, Australia
Exhibited at the 2016 edition of Sculpture by the Sea in Cottesloe, Australia, Sømærke was first created in 2015 for the same festival in Aarhus, Denmark. A sculpture that acts as a visual beacon, a shelter and a place to observe one’s surroundings, Sømærke offers views of the coast and provides a place for reflection and contemplation. The form of the artwork frames the view and provides the viewer with a tangible relationship to the natural environment and the passing sun by creating ever changing patterns of light and shadow across its wooden beams.
Making reference to the sculptural qualities of the Sømærker or coastal markers common to the Danish shoreline, the slatted wooden beams of the sculpture mimic their visual effects. An interplay of transparency, light and shadow, shift to Moiré effects as one walks towards and around the structure. Sømærke aims to have an analogous function by providing a beacon on the coast that offers guidance in space and time.
Intended to be experienced from both close proximity and as one approaches from afar, the sculpture’s lines of geometry will constantly shift in appearance depending on the angle and distance of the viewer. The space between the timber members adds transparency to the structure, encouraging interaction between inside and the out, while also creating a dialogue of overlaid lines that the viewer perceives as continuously interlacing and unravelling as they move around the artwork.
Sømærke’s geometry was developed by origami like folding of polygonal forms. The concentric folding of a decagon was used to generate a number of alternating hyperbolic paraboloids with cylindrical surfaces. This process creates an intriguing complexity while preserving the simplicity in how the artwork is designed and built. Sømærke is at once a frame for outward observation and a work of art to be viewed as a marker or beacon from afar, it is a sculpture that draws in viewers and encourages their visual engagement.
Proposal: Ben Allen, Ricardo Gomes and Lise Kassow
4 - 20 March 2016
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, Australia
Exhibited at the 2016 edition of Sculpture by the Sea in Cottesloe, Australia, Sømærke was first created in 2015 for the same festival in Aarhus, Denmark. A sculpture that acts as a visual beacon, a shelter and a place to observe one’s surroundings, Sømærke offers views of the coast and provides a place for reflection and contemplation. The form of the artwork frames the view and provides the viewer with a tangible relationship to the natural environment and the passing sun by creating ever changing patterns of light and shadow across its wooden beams.
Making reference to the sculptural qualities of the Sømærker or coastal markers common to the Danish shoreline, the slatted wooden beams of the sculpture mimic their visual effects. An interplay of transparency, light and shadow, shift to Moiré effects as one walks towards and around the structure. Sømærke aims to have an analogous function by providing a beacon on the coast that offers guidance in space and time.
Intended to be experienced from both close proximity and as one approaches from afar, the sculpture’s lines of geometry will constantly shift in appearance depending on the angle and distance of the viewer. The space between the timber members adds transparency to the structure, encouraging interaction between inside and the out, while also creating a dialogue of overlaid lines that the viewer perceives as continuously interlacing and unravelling as they move around the artwork.
Sømærke’s geometry was developed by origami like folding of polygonal forms. The concentric folding of a decagon was used to generate a number of alternating hyperbolic paraboloids with cylindrical surfaces. This process creates an intriguing complexity while preserving the simplicity in how the artwork is designed and built. Sømærke is at once a frame for outward observation and a work of art to be viewed as a marker or beacon from afar, it is a sculpture that draws in viewers and encourages their visual engagement.
