Client: Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Overview

The large circular Corten steel sculpture represents the seemingly endless cycle of life, while paying homage to the mechanics of the mind. Capturing the minds endless activity, rotating around the central void – which represents a state of suspended consciousness, one can attain through deep meditation rituals.

As we walk around the sculpture we witness an altered state of perspective, the heavy steel components and words seem to vanish and hang in suspended reality, before magically reappearing. The sculpture contains a short poem by Winston Churchill specifically chosen by the collector, which states: “We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.” Repeated twelve times to form a never-ending loop to inspire and signify the collector’s passion for charity work.

Size: 220cm x 220cm x 140cm

Goals

Mantra Machine was a joint commission for Yorkshire Sculpture Park and a private collector. The aim was to create a work that reflected my personal contemplation rituals which paying homage to the mechanics of the mind.

Process

Working closely with my internal fabrication team and the technical team at Yorkshire Sculpture Park was a truly collaborative process. The piece was installed at YSP for several months to fully rust before being installed at the collectors property in north Yorkshire, alongside prominent works by famous artists like Barbara Hepworth and Anthony Gormley.

The Sapien practice is built of collaboration, we work closely with clients and their communities to consistently deliver high-quality, meaningful work, we have a proven track record of telling stories in steel.