Sculpture International Rotterdam

The Sculpture

Three rodents hang with their tails clamped under a beam on the façade of the Weenapoint building on the Kruisplein at the height where you might expect to see a sign displaying the street name. Like the animals, the beam is made of bronze but has been painted to resemble wood. The sculpture is part of Manders’ larger project entitled Self-portrait as Building, which he initiated in 1986. During the week of the sculpture’s unveiling, Manders published a newspaper that was delivered door-to-door.

During the week of the sculpture’s unveiling, Manders published a newspaper that was delivered door-to-door. The newspaper contained poems and photographs of Manders’ temporary interventions in the public realm. It also contained portraits of a 15-year-old British boy, Angus Taggart, whom the artist had photographed because of his multicultural appearance. The newspaper gave an impression of the boy’s fantasy world and suggested that he was the author of the sculpture.

Angus functioned as a sort of alter ego for Manders. The artist Mark Manders, who exists only in an artificial world, is in turn an alter ego for the person Mark Manders. Manders’ work consists of materialised thoughts and events from this imaginary world.
(Source: openbarekunst.nl)

Specifications