For this sculpture at APT Gallery in Deptford, London, a 2.65 metre steel frame supports an ovoid series of simple stepped forms. The overall shape is reminiscent of stadium seating arranged around a central funnel shaped bowl. This "crowd container" is built in two separate halves, establishing a sense of monumentality recalling the amphitheatres of ancient ruins. And while the stark form might be alienating at a larger scale, the impression that the sculpture gives is decidedly anthropomorphic, emphasized by the fragile cardboard seating that rises from approximately waist height. The composition is an abstraction a sports arena; the steep angle of the seating and the broken form emphasizing a detached relationship. The strict formal strategy produces an enigmatic object, simultaneously invoking a sense of public life that is precisely ordered yet oddly exaggerated.
Arena cut
APT Gallery, Deptford London 2004
500 x 450 x 265 cm
drywall profile, cardboard