Empower by Lily Otasevic, Hamilton the Electric City Public Art Project, Confederation Beach Park, 581 Van Wagners Beach Road, Hamilton, ON

Excerpt from www.hamilton.ca/things-do/arts-music/public-art/hamilton-...:

Empower by Lilly Otasevic

One would be hard pressed to think about Nikola Tesla without thinking of waterfalls, and equally hard pressed to think about Hamilton without thinking about Nikola Tesla. The magnitude of growth and transformation of Hamilton into the Electric and multicultural city would never have happened without the force of Nature, the genius and mysterious inventor and a group of five businessmen with a vision ... in that order.

From experimenting with water wheels in the earliest days of his childhood, until many years later, before the thundering Niagara Falls, Nikola Tesla was in awe by the “wheelwork of Nature” as he called it, and what it can offer to humanity. The power of Nature and love for it remained in his heart till the day he died, leaving behind a world transformed by his mind over matter, countless pages of inventions that are yet to be understood and unlocked, and a flock of his beloved pigeons in a park near the New Yorker hotel.

The concept for Empower sculpture draws inspiration from Nature and enquiring human mind. It is inspired by humanity’s role in the higher order of things in the universe as nothing happens outside the context of interconnectedness. Empower is an interactive sculpture that incorporates lenticular-like effect -two images that coexist and inhabit same space and time but are never fully revealed at the same time.

The main ribbed wavy elements resemble fluid dynamics of a waterfall. Deeper inside therein hides a second form, a wheel-like pattern that forms an optical illusion of a rotational movement. This optical illusion, as an element of surprise and a perception challenge, reveals itself to a wondering viewer at certain angles.

As the angle of view changes, the waterfall partially disappears allowing the “wheelwork” to appear and vice versa. Besides the symbolic aspect, this inside element represents a connection to the Decew Falls power plant power generators that employed turbines, as part of Nikola Tesla’s ingenious patent, without which electric power transmission to longer distances would not have been possible.

The sculpture concept aims to represent complexity within simplicity (or is it simplicity within complexity?), to inspire a sense of wonder and a desire to unlock the mechanisms of the unknown. It emphasizes the importance of curiosity and a desire to learn, understand and - innovate. Responsibly innovate.

The title Empower is multilayered, referring to, among other possible interpretations, being empowered by enquiring mind, by mind over matter. It also refers to hydroelectric power, and the power of Nature to empower us - if we treat and nurture it with respect.

Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Hamilton Beach (show map)

Taken on: April 28, 2024

Tags:

Hamilton

Ontario

Sculptures

Public Arts

Public Arts Hamilton

Public Arts Ontario

Empower

Lily Otasevic

Hamilton the Electric City Public Art Project

Confederation Beach Park

581 Van Wagners Beach Road « less

Sets appears in: • Public Arts, Hamilton, ON

Groups appears in: • Frame It! ~Level 01~ (P1/A5)

Stats: 329 views / 17 comments

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