THE ORIGIN OF LOVE
2021 | Steel Rebar | 300X175X175 cm
“The Origin of Love” from Plato’s Symposium tells the story of how humans were once two bodies conjoined as one united being. The original humans were strong, defiant and threatening to the gods. Zeus decided to split them in two, leaving them with an endless desire to return to their other half, to be whole again. This is love as we know it.
Love (Eros as Plato called it) is being undivided, yearning for the body and soul we once were. It's the basic truth found in everything - physical and metaphysical - the mortar that bonds people together.
In this era of doubt and instability, we long for an anchor of certainty, a safe space, a place to call home. It is evident in our desire to come together and reconnect, physically and spiritually.
This sculpture of two metal figures will be displayed at Midburn 2021 festival. Though inspired by Plato’s myth of Love, it also corresponds with the Effigy, Midburn’s central art piece which is traditionally a figure of a woman and a man.
This sculpture depicts a woman and a man embracing in a hug, their bodies fused together, spiralling towards a singular point.
At a distant glance the sculpture may be ambiguous, a double helix tornado. Its turbulent silhouette will keep the viewer wondering whether these are two separate bodies or one shape.
Made of thin metal rods, the tough industrial material that forms the bodies is juxtaposed with the gentle subject matter of the piece - Love.
CREATION PROCESS
It started with a 3d model, a male and a female intertwined. Then I ran a simulation ontop of this model, creating traced splines, these represent the metal rods in the final sculpture. Using the same computer model I extracted a 3D frame on which I would build the sculpture, giving me an accurate stencil to work on. I continued creating the outer shell by bending 6mm metal rods on top of the frame. Each one is meticulously laid out to conform to the shape and flow of the sculpture, one by one these “wires” are welded to each other creating a rigid structure.
The sculpture is held by a central column which which is attached to ball bearings, allowing for the entire sculpture to rotate on its axis smoothly.
