Tony Cragg, b. 1949 in Liverpool, lives in Wuppertal
According to the drawings of the artist, 46 different slices were sawn out of the industrial wood material “Kerto”, which were stacked, screwed, ground and painted to form a tower made to resemble a human profile rotating around itself. This freestanding work constantly changes as one wanders about it, allowing it to be always rediscovered.
Cragg’s contribution is an individual transformation of large-scale landscape structures. The sculpture stands on the site of a former outdoor swimming pool on the outskirts of the village of Tewel. The swimming pool is today a biotope; the paddling pool, a barbecue place. Over the Mehlandsbach one looks into the meadows and fields. Even if the sculpture formally seems quite distant to the space in which it it is presented, The decision of the artist for this place is insightful. At this point of the transition between village and landscape, the boundaries of created nature and cultivated landscape are blurred.
In his work, Tony Cragg is concerned with producing in art “things that exist neither in nature nor in our functional world” (Cragg), which ultimately reflect his feelings towards the world and his own existence.
Addendum : Fifteen years after its establishment, deep crevices and cracks had formed in the wooden structure of the sculpture. After a lengthy drying process, the surface could be closed again and the sculpture re-coated in coordination with the artist. In May 2017 the restored sculpture was welcomed at a Dorffest in Tewel.
Catalog: Tony Cragg, Woodcrystal / Woodcrystal. Texts: C. Herstatt, L. Biggs, 2000, 66 pp. € 20 / € 15