Crocodylius Philodendrus
2017
Cast iron, brass, bronze, aluminum, stainless steel armature and stainless steel wire cable
172 x 198 x 148 in
436.9 x 502.9 x 375.9 cm
Photo by Lucy Dawkins
As part of her series Diversifolia– which in the scientific names of plants indicates a single species possessed with a considerable variety of leaf, Crocodylius Philodendrus employs clusters of bouquet like arrangements comprised out of a variety of animal forms that explode into space in all directions. Her calculated compositions employ a structural property called “tensegrity,” wherein individual parts are arranged in balanced compression and secured with tensile cables, that galvanizes the aluminium crocodiles, hogs and deer, cast iron tortoises, and bronze zebras into purely formal, abstract components as they propel into space due to their aggregate momentum. Circumnavigating her towering assemblage reveals the transformation of found objects and industrial refuse into expertly orchestrated abstractions that are fluid and rhizomatic in nature.
Exhibitions
Sculpture in the City Sculpture in the City, London, United Kingdom June - May 2021
Diversifolia Gagosian London, Britannia Street, London, United Kingdom 7 February - 14 April 2018
Nancy Rubins discusses Crocodylius Philodendrus for London’s 2021 Sculpture in the City program.
Related works
Agrifolia Majoris, 2017
Dense Bud, 2016