Anuloid
welded iron
před KD Slavie – Zátkovo nábřeží
A torus is a surface of revolution created by rotating a circle about an axis that lies in the same plane and has no points in common with it — that is the mathematical definition. The artistic, sculptural thinking starts from a fascination with the shape and with carrying it over into unusual contexts of scale and material. Installed on a tilted axis, the object unsettles the viewer by seeming almost to levitate in space, and provokes the imagination by framing a circular view onto the surrounding world.
What the sculpture looks like
The sculpture Annuloid stands on a simple black metal structure. Its overall height is close to that of an adult. The sculptural form itself sits roughly at the visitor's eye level.
The plinth takes the form of a tall open cubic frame. It is made of four slender legs joined at the top by a flat plate and at the bottom by a rectangular frame. The structure looks restrained, technical and matt. It contrasts sharply with the main part of the sculpture.
In the middle of the top plate is a short metal spike. It is set vertically and fixed to the plinth by a circular plate with bolts. On this spike rests the main form of the sculpture: a large silvery ring with an extraordinarily smooth, polished surface.
The ring has the shape of a torus, that is, a body resembling a tyre or a doughnut. It is large, massive and rounded. Its outer outline forms a perfect circle. In the middle is a circular opening through which you can see the space on the other side of the sculpture. The opening is fairly large. It takes up a significant part of the object without dominating the substantial rim. The diameter of the opening is roughly comparable to the thickness of the silvery ring on either side.
The upper part of the ring tilts slightly backwards. The surface of the sculpture is perfectly smooth and strongly reflective. There are no visible traces of material, no joints and no signs of hand modelling. It resembles a mirror: pale, cool and silvery. In some places it is almost white with reflected sunlight, elsewhere darker and tinted by reflections of the surroundings.
The most important quality of this form is the way it deforms the reflected image. The silver ring works as a convex curved mirror. Everything in front of it is stretched, bent and wrapped around the opening on its surface. Straight lines turn into arcs. Vertical shapes curve, narrow or widen. The image forms undulating bands that follow the curve of the ring.
The inner edge of the opening is mirror-bright as well. It creates a smooth rounded tunnel whose walls turn the reflections inwards. Because of this the opening does not read as a flat cut-out in a metal plate, but gains depth. The transition between the outer surface and the inside of the opening is soft and continuous.
How the object finally looks depends above all on where the viewer stands. The sculpture constantly takes on the lines, colours and shapes of its surroundings. As a visitor walks around the object, the reflections change, shift and combine into new images. The surface of the sculpture thus feels alive and constantly changing.
How to find the sculpture
In front of the Slavie cultural centre, Zátkovo nábřeží, České Budějovice. The sculpture stands on a simple black metal structure – a tall open cubic frame serving as a plinth. In the middle of its top plate is a short metal spike.
