Estian Gericke - Balancing the World

sculpture where the human figure is now not the subject of importance, but the earth is and is balancing on the head of the figure using it as a “plinth”. The world is our source of life, but with human intervention there is an imbalance in the whole ecosystem which leads to issues such as global warming and over consumption of resources. It relates to Newton’s third law which formally states: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Every action we do to the planet will directly impact us in the future.                                                                                         

Ironically we are the most intelligent species, but at the same time masters of our own destruction. Firstly focusing on the round steel ball it is made from steel plates which differ in shape and size, symbolising the fractured world we live in and that things are chaotic at the moment and don’t make sense- almost like a puzzle where none of the pieces fit together. Nothing lasts forever and it’s inevitable that there is always a beginning and end to life, but the issue is that the world is being destroyed through greed, selfishness, pollution and over-population. Secondly the aluminium which pours out from the sides of the steel globe symbolises the energy or life- source which is being extracted from earth by humans to improve our lives. However the world is being destroyed and directly we are killing ourselves with natural disasters, diseases and resource shortages.                                                                                                             The figure is made from aluminium with areas filled in with threaded rod, bolts and steel plates. It symbolises that we use the resources (aluminium poured from earth) to enhance our lives, but in-between our idealistic lives we are broken whether physically or emotionally. We try to fill those empty gaps with elements such as technology, unhealthy lifestyles or toxic relationships which temporarily satisfies our needs but ultimately destroys one of being yourself as it is meant to be which leads to a lost and broken person, as the world currently is.