Aeneas Wilder, Origin, Château de Seneffe

The château of Seneffe hosts until the 13th november the outdoor exhibition of the works of Aeneas Wilder. It is set within the gardens of le château de Seneffe. The exhibition consists of three large scale outdoor installations: A metrestacked wooden sphere; a 12 metre high tower; a meadow flower labyrinth. The exhibition also included a series of five cubic units and four video documentary works made over a 12 month period in Japan.

All the works presented in Seneffe were done in situ between april and june 2016. They dialogue with the château, the gardens, the topography and the history of the ensemble. 

A True visual and technical performance, the Untitled # 180 (the sphere) is installed in the cour d'honneur of the Domaine du Château de Seneffe. This flagship sculpture is at the same time imposing, delicate and transparent.

The sphere with a height of 11,40m is made from 600 wooden beams joined together by screws of 24 cm. The sculpture is in dialogue with the castle and courtyard. For the artist, the map of the courtyard reminds the female reproductive system. The sphere is a metaphor of an egg, the birth.

Untitled #180, 2016, cours d'honneur

The labyrinth is simple, stylish and sauvage.  The work is a five circle with a total of 42m of diameter. This creation is living with the seasons and symbolizes the cycle of life, from birth to death. What it impress the most is the parfume by the meadow flowers as it is the end of summer and how our body works with senses when we are in the center of the labyrinth.

The tower is constructed from wood stacked to a height of 12.50 m. A chair stands on the top and faces the garden. The tower completes the axis between the fountain and the column marking the end of the garden.

 

Flower Labyrinth and high chair, 2016, gardens 

  

High Chair, 2016, gardens

 

The ministry of Love, 2016, gardens

The ministries of Love consists in five cubes made of wood and colored plexiglas, spread over the park. It offers the opportunity to spend time in an enclosed colourfull space, separated from the countryside. The work is part of a series already in reinterpreting the "ministries" of the novel 1984 by George Orwell.

The ministry of Love (detail), 2016, gardens