lawrence lek + onur ozkaya: twins

‘twins’, a sculptural installation by lawrence lek and onur ozkaya, on exhibition at london’s new coldharbour gallery

‘twins’, an installation by german-born, new york-based artist lawrence lek in collaboration with industrial designer onur ozkaya, uses the form of two identical wings as an architectural form, unto which shadows and projected light plays to offer visitors the experience of a ‘world-within-the-world’. ‘twins’ is on exhibition through july 3rd as part of ‘illuminations’, the inaugural exhibition of the coldharbour london artspace.

lek conceptualized ‘twins’ as a project wherein light and shadow are as integral to the formation of space as is the physical structure. to create the sculptures, the team soaked flat, arrow-shaped pieces of birch plywood  in hot water, softening the material and permitting its corners to be bent together and fashioned into a leaf or feather -like shape; these pieces were then lashed together in alternating rows to create an undulating surface. the unusual process ‘makes the wings behave like a fabric’ so that their final draped form is influenced by gravity.

lek notes that no three-dimensional modeling software was used to design or construct the installation; the design structure resulted in close continuity between initial study and scale models and the full-sized prototype. the modular nature of the sculpture permits it to be tailored to specific installation locations and structural support systems, while the artists foresee possible future extensions ranging from the use of materials other than wood for the basic components to combining the sculpture with interactive design technologies or kinetic mechanical parts to create a more responsive work.

in lawrence lek’s words:

‘I wanted to create a sculpture that you could inhabit, one that you could enter an illuminated world in which light and shadow were as important as structure. I also wanted to combine two contrasting natural forms– the playfulness of wings in flight, and the intimacy of a womb-like enclosure.

the project combine[s] earlier interests in biological skins and exoskeletons with a simple route or passage through an interior zone. this notion of creating an inhabitable sculpture would operate between our animal instinct to be immersed in nature, and our intellectual desire to create and control our environment.‘

profile view in gallery

additional view

detail view from below

the wood pieces stitched together

each of the identical components is formed from a piece of birch plywood that was soaked in hot water and then bent

concept model

scale model composed of playing cards

additional view of the playing card macquette

structural concept diagram of individual pieces

structural diagram for the sculpture

the artists at work installing ‘twins’

full view of installation macquette

initial video proposal of the project

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