Art lovers in a spin over spiral artworks signposting wider universe
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An artwork featuring two intersecting spirals has been constructed at Somerset House in London.
The outdoor installation, which spirals outwards from the art gallery’s neoclassical courtyard, is by Indian contemporary artist Jitish Kallat.
Unveiled on Thursday, Whorled (Here After Here After Here) features two spirals which run parallel to each other and do not meet in the middle as the artwork gives a maze-like effect.
The work is meant to echo road signs from throughout the world as well as places in the Universe.
In a spiral shape, standing 336 metres (1,102ft) long and 30 metres (98ft) wide, the blue and white barriers have places, miles and traffic signs written on them.
They also feature signs for docks, motorways like the M26 and that traffic queues are likely ahead.
Some of the places like Kuala Lumpur and Stuttgart, featured in the work, have had flooding in recent years, while others are known to be under environmental threat of submersion within the next 30 years.
The signs also indicate the distance from Somerset House to celestial bodies, such as the Moon, Mars, and stars in the Milky Way.
Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is said to be 390 million miles away while the planet Uranus is indicated to be 1.98 billion miles away from the art gallery.
Kallat, 48, has used the themes of cosmology and ecology in his artwork before.
He also previously sculpted words on bookshelves for his 2007 work Public Notice 2 at the Saatchi Gallery in south-west London.
Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s speech, the work was on display as part of the Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today exhibition.
Whorled (Here After Here After Here) by Jitish Kallat is open to the public at Somerset House from February 16 to April 23.
