In Spain, installation artist Janet Echelman has transformed the historical Madrid Plaza with her beautiful sculpture focusing on the passage of time. From Feb. 9 to 19, this amazing sculpture was hung in Madrid’s central Plaza Mayor to commemorate Madrid’s 400th anniversary.
1.78 is the title of the sculpture and is a reference to the number of microseconds the day was shortened by during the 2011 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan. The medium of the sculpture is made from thousands upon thousands of brightly colored polyethylene fibers stabilized by steel trusses and ballasts. However, the actual fibers are stronger than steel because of their weight. The fibers were tied, braided, shaped and spliced together in an abstract form that changes in response to the wind and weather around it. This piece is part of Janet Echelman’s “Earth Time” Series that started in 2011 and spanned across multiple major cities, and like Echelman’s other sculptures, 1.78 was illuminated at night by brightly colored lights.
Courtesy: Joao Ferrand
Echelman’s main message with 1.78 was the emphasis on the passage of time. Through the 400 years of Madrid’s eras of bullfighting and Spanish Inquisition burnings in that very plaza, Echelman wanted her audience to focus on the day-to-day and century-to-century cycle of time and discuss hopeful ideas for the future. 1.78 was also created to contrast the sharp edges of the average cityscape. This, a reoccurrence in all of her sculptures, challenges the norm of what a city should look like.
Courtesy: Joao Ferrand
If you would like to see more of Echelman’s magnificent sculptures, visit her website.