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Weather Vane, 2022
Cypress, steel wire
Variable Dimensions
This particular sculptural gesture which involves the placement of a cypress tree diagonally towards the sea, arises from the concept of “rooting,” of consolidation, but also of an opposite condition, that of “uprooting” as a broader concept related to violent movement. Dendrophoriae in ancient Greece, celebrations in which trees were carried to the main streets of the city-state, recalled the proximity of rural life in the city, by reuniting the natural element with the artificial. However, the literal meaning of the transportation and movement is evidence of a perception pertaining to the tree’s animation. The cypress tree is moved and repositioned at a temporary location on the Elefsina coastline, at the level of the harbor, behind a sunken ship, whose mast protrudes, taking a diagonal inclination.
During the installation, some parts of the cypress, raised and supported by “concrete curbs,” will break away from the main structure, fall or break. The “wind-friendly” ( anemophily) inclination of the structure serves as an indication of a meteorological condition, a kind of a wind tunnel. The lateral inclination of the cypress tree implies the action of a force, a strong resistance, involving human will against horizontality and oblivion.
As with the large sculptural installation in the Old Olive Mill of Elefsina, the boundaries between the organic and the inorganic, movement and immobility, animate and inanimate matter, blossoming and withering in the off-center placement of the tree, are negotiable. The “slanted” posture of the tree highlights concepts such as weight, balance, building and possible collapse, further demonstrating the changing plasticity of the “weather,” in a temporary rooting that struggles to stay alive.
