In the Shadow of the Wind    2000

Sponsored by the Windwaerts Wind Turbine Company, A satellite project to Expo 2000 - Hanover, Germany
Barsinghausen, Germany 2000
conrete, coal, wood - 240 feet
  • miners removing coal for sculpture

In the Shadow of The Wind is a sculpture installed at the base of a wind turbine. Its form was inspired by the shadow cast by the  turbine at the moment of the summer solstice. The ephemeral shape of the graceful turbine's shadow of is made permanent. The 240 feet long artwork is constructed in concrete, its surface embedded with chunks of coal mined from a local defunct coal mine. Through the incorporation of coal and tree trunks the artwork explores the environmental issues of clean wind energy versus previously used fossil fuels. In the Shadow of The Wind is located in a farm field near a residential area and functions as a community park. Because the landscaping is hilly some portions of the artwork's surface are ground level while others are table height.  These areas, complete with tree trunk stools, create picnic table surfaces and community gathering spaces.