| Galactica is intended to convey a sense of time and gesture. There is a stance, as of some strange—and unrecognizable—animal. Galactica’s component elements, each with its own meanings or design, are specific and referential. Some are obviously man made: an old beam, a spring, the metal rim of an old wheel. These are relics, brought together to form something else but also referring to time and history. Others are forms representative of the universe: the spiral that is not just a spiral, but is cut off, clean and straight, hence man made and industrial. Spikes recall horns; they are dangerous and aggressive yet benign, set in a way that cannot hurt. Similarly, “teeth” at the top of the piece are set inside a semicircle that refers to things incomplete, possibly abandoned, but also reborn and new.
In conceiving Galactica, I thought of the demon carvings that stand outside Shinto shrines in Japan. These fearsome images are designed to ward off the impure of heart. Galactica was designed for no temple, but the intent is the same. The fearless viewers pursue the message: the marriage of things human, natural and universal; a marriage that we, as humans, are still trying to achieve.
Mark Washburn 2003
|
