![[diameter]7,5 x 159 x 16,5 - 195 x 47 x 90 - [diameter]6 x 18 cm by Miroslaw Balka](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd2w8kbdekdi1gv.cloudfront.net%2FeyJidWNrZXQiOiAiYXJ0ZXJhLWltYWdlcy1idWNrZXQiLCAia2V5IjogImFydHdvcmtzL2IwYjY4N2ViLTUxNmEtNDQxMi1iM2EyLWEyMGI2M2MxY2Q5MS9iMGI2ODdlYi01MTZhLTQ0MTItYjNhMi1hMjBiNjNjMWNkOTFfZnVsbC5qcGciLCAiZWRpdHMiOiB7InJlc2l6ZSI6IHsid2lkdGgiOiAxOTIwLCAiaGVpZ2h0IjogMTkyMCwgImZpdCI6ICJpbnNpZGUifX19&w=3840&q=75)
Dimensions: unconfirmed: 1950 x 470 x 900 mm unconfirmed: 75 x 1590 x 165 mm unconfirmed: 60 x 180 mm
Copyright: © Miroslaw Balka | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Miroslaw Balka, born in 1958, is the artist behind this set of objects, its title a cascade of dimensions: [diameter]7,5 x 159 x 16,5 - 195 x 47 x 90 - [diameter]6 x 18 cm. Editor: Gosh, it feels like a stage set, but for what? A play about absence? It’s so sparse. Curator: Balka often works with minimalist forms, referencing personal and collective memory, especially the Holocaust. These austere objects might evoke furniture, yet resist functionality. Editor: Definitely. The way that slender, dark, vertical piece is positioned almost precariously… it’s unsettling. And then the little cylinder on the floor... it's like a lonely sentinel. Curator: Consider the power of simple forms. The table, the cylinder, the vertical bar – each becomes a symbol, loaded with potential meanings related to loss, displacement, and the fragility of existence. Editor: It’s true, I keep wanting to fill in the blanks, to project a narrative onto these silent players. Well, I’m off to look for more stories in the gallery.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/balka-diameter75-x-159-x-165-195-x-47-x-90-diameter6-x-18-cm-t07444
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[diameter]7,5 x 159 x 16,5 - 195 x 47 x 90 - [diameter]6 x 18 cm is a set of three objects: a wooden sculpture resembling a table, and two steel pipes, one long and one short. The table-like object is mostly made from softwood and coated with a mixture of chalk and glue. Its top layer consists of two used floorboards, placed side by side and with a thin groove running between them that holds a line of salt. Directly beneath this is a softwood shelf containing a long rectangle of polyester foam that is around 2 cm thick and is backed by galvanised steel. The foam was originally soaked in salty water, and although it is displayed dry, some of the crystallised salt is visible on its surface. The longer pipe has a dark, dull surface and is filled to its brim with salt and fixed to the floor and wall of the gallery so that it stands vertically. The smaller pipe, which is screwed into the floor a short distance away from the larger one, has a shiny surface and contains a smaller cylinder, and the gap in between these larger and smaller tubes is filled with salt. The title seems to refer to the objects’ dimensions, but these are not entirely accurate: the true dimensions are 900 x 1945 x 470 mm for the table sculpture, 1610 x 75 x 180 mm for the longer pipe and 185 x 60 x 60 mm for the shorter pipe.
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