Four Figures of Light

1978

(1) 188 x 243 cm optical glass periscope prism, chromed spring steel with prisms, chromed perforated steel triangular upright, circular steel base

(2) 167 x 213 cm optical glass periscope prism, chromed spring steel with prisms, aluminium angle, steel blocks

(3) 160 cm high optical glass periscope prism, aluminium angles, chromed steel blocks

(4) 147 cm high optical glass periscope prism, aluminium angles, chromed steel blocks

When Lijn made the first of these large-scale prism headed figures, she had the strange feeling that her sculptures had jumped off their bases and come alive on the floor.

A change of scale can be a critical step. The figure is no longer part of its own private contained world, but now relates to the whole space it inhabits, be it a room or a garden.

These figures are human scale and are meant to be seen in relation to men and women. When Lijn made them she realised that she was going to try to find a new human image.

Lijn wanted to make human figures stripped down to the essential but also bring to them something new. She used military and industrial materials to make them icons of the central power of our society and gave them heads that reflect and refract light emitting beams of colour.