Shirazeh Houshiary

Description

Shirazeh Houshiary's early ambition was to be a writer, and of The Extended Shadow she has written: 'The "Heptad" or group of seven was called by Greek philosophers "Minerva" because of its similarity to the goddess in fables, ie it is virgin and unmarried, neither is born from mother (even number) or father (odd number). One could say that heptad proceeds from the "monad" (number one) which is the summit of numbers because it is indivisible by both odd and even numbers. The monad symbolised intellect, male/female and God for the Pythagoreans. Heptad alliance to the monad has made it sacred in many traditions.

'The Extended Shadow is a column of four metres in height and constructed of a series of seven sided polygons, ie heptagons, stacked upon each other. These are made of cast lead with the top and underside finished in gold.

'The squaring of the number seven (symbolised by the heptagon) is realised by repeating heptagon forty-nine times in its vertical dimension. Each turns around its centre as they ascend, until a full circle is completed. This act of rotation reveals the inner core of gold and the movement of seven gold lines spiralling upwards around the column. Now one sees the column of density and weight slowly turning to subtleness and light. This process of change is the true meaning of The Extended Shadow.'