Tunnel Vision
a sculptural proposal
Tunnel Vision
Liane Lang's proposed sculpture is created from an existing very large scale piece of industrial machinery, a mild steel cylinder approximately 10 metres in length and 5 metres in diameter. There is an aperture at both sides.
A staircase entrance to the tunnel in welded steel will allow access at one side. On the inside the wall curvature will be printed with images of caves and tunnels from significant natural and industrail sites, drawing these together and allowing illusionary space. The viewer can enter and walk through the cyclinder in its entirety. There will be sound from loudspeakers producing a soundscape that is equally drawn together from natural and industrial sounds. The ecology and geology below ground is mysterious and inaccessible. Mosy of the planetary insides will remain forever unexplored, with it's ancient fossil finds and millions of years of flowstone. The artist will create the imagery for this work by traveling to some remarkable underground locations including giant marble quarries, natural cave networks and deep mines.
Liane Lang’s series of works repurposing disused industrial machinery has a relatively small environmental impact due to the reuse of existing objects. Her work asks the question What is Nature? And interrogates the difficulty we have as humans to feel part of nature and see our products and processes as part of the natural world. Her work is inspired by an awe for both nature and heavy industry with its immense machinery and ingenious inventions. Her photographic imagery draws from the reshaping of landscape by industrial activity and the post apocalyptic feel of abandoned worksites such as mines and quarries. Her work includes the human body, delicate arms wrapped around rusted wheels, small figures hiding in the shadow. The frail existence of the living body in this environment reminds us of the importance to change the way we do almost everything to preserve our habitat.
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The cylinder is currently at Longcliffe Quarries in Derbyshire. It was once at work as part of a limestone classifier in the quarry.
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