Whilst walking past a demolition site in Chippendale, I noticed very old concrete reinforcement bar being torn apart by an excavator, lying in piles that looked like steel spaghetti.
I spotted some interesting shapes within the twisted tangles and asked if I could have them. I think they thought I was mad, but allowed me to cut a few sections loose, which I took to my studio.
steel traces
2001
1400mm x 800mm
Steel reinforcement bar, acrylic lacquer, resin
and halogen lighting
I had previously acquired some shipping linkage rings from a boat repair yard in Rozelle.
Having experimented with casting resin for a while I wanted to combine all three elements with integrated lighting to explore shape and shadow.
The existing curves of the reobar were exagerated and welded to the shipping linkage to serve as a base, with an uplight set in clear resin. The reobar was treated to kill the rust and coated with automotive lacquer.
There is a tension in the steel that moves in response to vibrations in the room, creating shadows that come alive.
It reminds me of the fairground game where you have to manoeuvre a steel loop around a tangle of metal without the two touching.
