Asif Khan

Description

Swivel's reflective surface, mirrors its surrounding environment, redefining the space around it through a confusion of form and material. Suspended from the ceiling, Swivel gradually fractures and re-aligns responding to the flow of air.

Swivel draws upon the tradition of kinetic sculpture, in the form of a mobile, first produced and made famous by Alexander Calder in 1931. Calder's mobiles were usually biomorphic, recalling organic shapes. Swivel recalls the effects achieved by Calder's mobiles, but using a geometric form. Its square shape, gives Swivel an irrefutable, solid presence, when it is unified. However, the typically arresting nature of this form is denied by the mirrored surface which lends Swivel a lightness and element of abstraction, especially as it fractures and mirrors its surroundings.

Swivel's movements diffuse the viewer's gaze, shifting attention from the viewer to the object to the environment and back, as the reflections and fragmentations create a confusion between these elements through Swivel's changing form.