Dubai: A floating sculpture, suspended above the fountain at Dubai Mall, has grabbed the attention of curious visitors who wondered what it could be.
The red sculpture, according to organisers, is actually a representation of time. 1.78 microseconds, to be exact.
American artist Janet Echelman has revealed her latest works, the ‘1.78’, which is currently on display at the Waterfront Promenade as part of the latest addition to Art Emaar – the company's new public arts initiative at Downtown Dubai.
The sculpture ‘1.78’ is the latest art piece of Echelman's Earth Time Series and was described as an exploration of cyclical time.
1.78, according to NASA, refers to the number of microseconds that the day was shortened when a single physical event shifted the earth's mass, “thus speeding up the planet's daily rotation.”
The floating piece of artwork, according to organisers, is comprised of layers of bright polyethylene threads tied in over 600,000 knots over nearly 124 kilometres of string.
The layers of highly-engineered fibre are also 15 times stronger than steel by weight.
‘1.78' is the latest addition to the art hub of Downtown Dubai. The Dubai Mall recently welcomed Richard Hudson's ‘LOVE ME' public sculpture commission and ‘Wave-Field', a travelling exhibit by Canadian-based Lateral Office and CS Design.
