Mysteries and Wonders in the Tetrahedron of Conrad Shawcross

The British artist Conrad Shawcross is known for his mechanical sculptures, abstract and technically complex, created using and combining a number of methods and materials. Public and private monuments that provoke the senses, engaging the mind and challenging common perceptions. Based on a system of modular parts which could be repeated infinitely, his works conceal studies that range from geometry to philosophy, from physics to metaphysics. One of his sculptures, entitled Formation III: The Dappled Light of the Sun, was installed in the Jaddaf Waterfront Sculpture Park, next to the Jameel Arts Centre. Geometric structures that sit on six-metre-high tripods, composed of thousands of tetrahedrons, giving the impression of branching organic forms. Fascinated by this form, Shawcross has already used the tetrahedron in other works. Creations which, while being inspired by technology, nature and both physical and mechanical laws, seem totally enigmatic, full of mystery, paradoxes and wonder. The structures have a rational aspect but they are carried to the limits of their sustainability, thus assuming an irrational dimension. A machine aesthetic born from a dialogue between art and science, through which the artist seeks to depict the invisible.