This is my first work made in my new atelier alias garage alias shed. Initially, I wanted to make a cube “globe” with on each side a symbol of our earth. But I had overestimated my welding skills (haha) alongside with buying too thin steel plates to weld. They simply melted away.
Having finally succeded in making a cube in the way too thin steel, it was simply to thin and fragile to be used for my “Earth”. So I set out on making a series of cubes as a way to perfect (well, improve!) my welding skills. And what do you do with a lot of cubes and an upcomming exhibition with architecture as a theme? You make something a bit architectury-like 🙂
Short note on the side:
I’m fascinated by man-made environments versus natural environments, and Grid B Lock can be seen as a lighthearted commentary on the beauty of cities against their inherent problems due to crowding of people, of facilities, of workspace, of living space (I could go on and on and on). Sustainable cities, with respect to both living conditions and to environmental impact are still utopias, a dot on the horizon of urban developers.
I really like the “skin” of every cube, the imperfections and the hue. I sat out to perfect the welding of the corners, but soon realized I would rob my cubes of life like that. The choice was easily made, the imperfections became an integral part of the work.
It was great fun to figure out how to get all the cubes at the same hight and (more or less) straight on their sticks. The grid in the pictures was used for that while it also allowed for playing with the composition. I quite enjoy imagining and making custom made tools to assist in the work process. After all, I was once an engineer 😉
