Sit upon one of Tanya Preminger’s grass-covered sculptures, and the sensation of unbalanced equilibrium will immediately strike you. The Israeli artist crafted permanent inclines and hollows integrated into the terrain, creating an illusion of instability that appears poised to tilt with the shifting of weight.
For each slanted installation, Preminger utilized an excavator to dig out a depression and deposit the excavated soil nearby. She then meticulously shaped the sloping ground, utilizing a shovel, rake, and extended ruler before covering it with sod.
Inspired by the imprint of a foot in sand, Preminger sought to capture the reciprocal nature inherent in the natural world. “In physics, an action is equal to its reaction,” she explained to Colossal. “The project embodies, in tangible form, the philosophical principle of equilibrium between opposing aspects of a single essence.”
Preminger originated the first oval impression in 1989 within the fields of the kibbutz Givat Brenner. When invited to recreate her initial creation for the Chemin d’Art festival in France in 2008, she conceived “Round Balance,” modifying her original oval shape to a circle in order to convey a more universal significance.
photos: Tanya Preminger