Towers of Babel, 2020

- The Circle of Babel was created for Senstad's solo exhibition How We Live Together at Yi Gallery, New York, is an installation consiting of 7 unique acrylic sculptures set in a circular composition referencing the mytholgogical Tower of Babel. In biblical terms the tower represents seperation through language, menaing displacement of communication, commerce, empathy and understanding, where the human unified race is divided as punishment for their wickedness. In ancient cultures the circle represents unity and understanding - it is a tribal system of organization and dwelling. In it's construction a circular shape of individual towers, colors interweave, reflecting each plane merging into new colors, creating the inner workings of the kaledioscope. We are reminded of how we as individuals are all part of a system, interlinked and of equal value -referencing the basis of civiland hunan rights.

The exhibition How We Live Together was produced during the COVID-19 lockdown, and reflects how quarentine and isolation divided our natural social fabric and with unknown long term effects of the the collective human psyche, yet it provides an opportunity to internally reconsider and actively return to reshape our multiple futures for coming generations as sovereign authors for a livable and sustainable world, allthough utopic in vision, that in itself references to the removal of opressive cynisicm.

The costructivist/arte concrete inspired sculptures are seen as triangles from above, yet appear as square towers from front view. As individual sculptures, the "towers" exist as individual Babels, signifying the individual totem. As sets of pairs or quadrouples the connotations expand to the idea of connectivity as in coupling or the neuclear family, the comfort of even numerals while the totality of seven signifies days of the week, ritual numbers such as lucky digits and mystical numerals.

The series was created as part of the long term critical social research project Calitalism in the Public Realm that started in 2014

Each tower is unique piece.

Transparent and flourescent acrylics and mirrors, brass hinges, brass screws, nuts and bolts.

©annekatrinesenstad2020