TICKON Diamond Mines Land Art

Text for the TICKON Catalog, Diamond MInes, 2011 TICKON Art Park, Land Art, Langeland, Fyn, Denmark.

“Diamond Mines” is an abstract, site-specific sculpture built of loose, natural stone. The work is situated on westward-sloping ground in a grove of mature beech trees. Wooded hills rise to the north and south. Park paths wind along the west and north sides of the sculpture. To the west, Tranekær lake and castle can be viewed.

‘Diamond’ is the perimeter, outline shape of the sculpture. The shapes of the nineteen interior facets are also diamond. There are a total of eighty-five obtuse and acute angles in the sculpture. The stones are set on their near-vertical axis in the construction, pointing up and down in the wall faces. In “Diamond Mines” there are diamonds within diamonds within a diamond.

Mines are holes excavated to seek riches within the earth. Their value is in what they yield; that which is removed. After the extraction of diamonds, empty mines take on symbolic worth. They represent the excitement of exploration and the promise of new possibilities.

The form of “Diamond Mines” suggests a resemblance to something that’s been unearthed, an archaeological dig, perhaps. It is, in fact, the remaining physical evidence of past industry. Every facet of the work done to create “Diamond Mines” is visible in the completed piece. Each stone was picked and placed with creative intention. The whole of the work is a collection of choices that define a structure.