William Pye

Description

Transformation is the key to this work, and William Pye has drawn parallels with the movement and energy of the changing vortex and the mythological tale of Scylla. A sea monster who lived in the straits of Messina, Scylla had the form of a woman with six dogs around the lower part of her body - having been transformed by the fact that Circe, her rival, had mixed magic herbs in the fountain where she bathed. The fearsome dogs devoured all that passed within their reach. On first seeing Scylla II, the myth seems a strange consideration, but looking at the vortex in movement, and the way in which it alters throughout its cycle, the parallels begin to make sense of the artistic licence Pye has taken.

The circular movement of water inside the transparent acrylic cylinder forms an air-core vortex in its centre. The form of the vortex can be seen in different states. When the vessel is filling from its base, the vortex rises, twisting and writhing; but when the water falls over the edge of the vessel, the air core becomes much more regular and rope-like. The pump then switches off, allowing the level of water to fall, the water becomes crystal clear, and the container empties before the cycle starts again. The acrylic that Pye has used for this sculpture is colourless and very pure, with the apparent density of water. It does not distort the image of moving water, as would happen in a glass container. This acrylic, produced by a manufacturer in Grand Junction, Colorado, has enabled Pye to extend his sculptural vocabulary to embrace the transparency of water in different states.