Suntrial
was considered through Sharjah
Nowadays society and its demands are changing faster and faster all the time – and our understanding of nature, our spatial requirements and the opportunities we have for shaping that space are also changing accordingly.The key characteristics of Suntrail are its emphasis on process and living dynamism. The project opens up to perceptions of presentness and change; it explores what might exist, suggests what has been and asks what is to yet come. Moving on an imagined spatial axis between sunrise and sunset, its wandering sculptures are designed to heighten sensitivity and create awareness – awareness of the way people see their space, the space that is their landscape, the space they live in; and awareness of the way they would like to see these things to lend a new identity to this special place that is the Suntrail. The Suntrail project will present the Emirate of Sharjah as the land of the rising and setting sun. Stretching along the east coast as well as the west, the country’s unique, rocky shores are interspersed with expanses of sandy beaches; green oases appear alongside sandy deserts. As the sculptures pass by, the genius loci is revealed. Making the Suntrail manifest could lead to a reinterpretation of the surrounding spatial landscape to represent an invaluable natural symbol.
The idea behind this work is for Philemon and Baucis, two living sculptures, to follow the Suntrail on a route that will take them from the east coast of Sharjah, where the sun rises, to Sharjah City on the western shore, where it sets. Like an arched bow, it will follow the course of a single day, starting at dawn and ending at dusk. In a context characterized by constant flux and the passage of time, their route will represent a voyage of perception: The study of the elementary forces of wind, warmth and cold; the study of contact with the elements, with sand, water and air; the observation of material as it reflects, and of tracking space, discovering the moment, and immersing to allow hidden possibilities to be rediscovered.
The Suntrail will come to epitomize Reflection