Vidente – Steel Sculpture

18th May, 2011

Vidente is a sculpture created from recycled steel tubing and pétanque balls. Part of the process is to rebend the tubing to create my desired shapes and lines – as if drawing in space. I am constantly checking the sculpture from different angles making sure it works visually from many viewpoints. Added to this, the time of day or season will change how the sculpture reacts with the surroundings. And to enhance this the steel tubing has been carefully cleaned with fibre pads to a shiny reflective surface that has been protected with a hard wearing baked on clear lacquer. Finally, the chrome finish of the boules create another level of reflection.

The name Vidente that means ‘seer’ in Spanish and the adjectives are ‘seeing’ and ‘clairvoyant. If type Vidente in Google Images you will see many images of Clairvoyants with their crystal balls that reminded me of the shiny boules. And of course the reflective surface of the sculpture is all about seeing.

Below is a picture of the sculpture just after fabrication and before it was cleaned and sprayed: