Double Vortex 2006
ROBBINS, Cameron
Registration number
1092455
Artist/maker
ROBBINS, Cameron
Title
Double Vortex
Production date
2006
Medium
glass, stainless steel, bronze, 130 litres water, 250 year-old kauri pine, cedar ply, pumps, plumbing, electric timers. (glass blown by Mark Douglass)
Dimensions (H x W x D)
180 x 80 x 230 cm
Credit line
Commissioned by the City of Melbourne, 2006
City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection
Keywords
Summary
Twin blown-glass chambers in which pumps spin water, producing vortices
Artist Statement
The vortex is very close to being a living thing. It is known as a ‘dissipative structure’, a class including any self-regulating organism (for example a tree, bird, or person) where energy is drawn in, structurally organised, and released at the other end. CH2 (Council House 2) can also be seen as a kind of living system; us as part of nature. The clockwise and anticlockwise spinning vortices illuminate a connection between CH2 and the history of constructive alternative science, especially concerning water and energy. Both this artwork and the CH2 project involve a process of exploration and invention and the fundamental interweaving of the concepts nature and culture.
The artwork is located in the CH2 foyer.
Cameron Robbins, 2006