Apple’s unique sculpture will capture the world in glass

A unique object

I’m mentioning this because I just find it deeply interesting. Apple has commissioned an all-glass sculpture for the Apple Park Visitor Center, which will be made using sand collected from deserts across the world.

A quite unique idea

A 9to5 report tipped me off that Apple has commissioned artist Katie Paterson and studio Zeller & Moye to create the permanent sculpture, which will be called Mirage and placed in the Swan Hill Olive tree grove at the north entrance to Apple Park Visitor Center.

The glass cylinders that comprise the sculpture will contain sand from “subtropical deserts, coastal, rain-shadow, interior, mountainous, volcanic and fossilized deserts.”

From the Zeller & Moye site:

“This public sculpture will be created from cylinders of pure cast glass, made of sand collected from deserts across the earth. Over four-hundred cast glass columns will combine the desert sands into a clear, wave-like form, mimicking a desert dune. Visitors can interact with the artwork, walking alongside and through it, where the glass will subtly melt into the landscape, like a desert mirage. It will have strong material presence, connecting to the elements. Social and connective, Mirage will create an unexpected gathering place for visitors and staff. The glass columns are glimpsed through the trees from the Visitor Center, the highway and beyond, generating a sense of discovery. • The artwork has been created together with Katie Paterson.”

Scottish artist Paterson’s art is built around the idea that we should  “Consider our place on Earth in the context of geological time and change.”

It’s also hard to ignore the contextual sub-text of this object being made from deserts as global warming disrupts and damages our existing ecosystem. Deserts are growing within this.

A world in grains of sand

I’ve found my imagination captured by the unique idea of using sand from across the planet in such a unique way.

I think the results of this will probably be priceless. It feels as if the sand itself will become some form of power object, representing the entire planet in grains of sand reborn as glass.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I thought people might want to know. Hopefully we’ll all be able to take a look at the sculpture once it is made in Apple Maps.

Also read:  How much each Apple Park building cost to build.

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