Liquid Reflections
Liliane Lijn
‘A cosmic model not only in the metaphorical sense of being reflections within reflections, circles within circles and spheres within spheres but also through a demonstration of forces.’
Since the 1960s, Liliane Lijn, a pioneer in kinetic art, has been experimenting with technology and light. Lijn views the world in terms of light and gravity, two essential elements to behold the world as a connected whole. The series Liquid Reflections (1967-1968) was created as a result of her experiments with plastic, fire, prisms, light and water - an artist’s interpretation of the physics of light. A hollow acrylic disc filled with water spins gently on a motorized turntable. Two solid acrylic balls rotate on the surface of the disc. Their movement is influenced by natural forces; the spin of the disc pulls them to its edge, while the slight concavity of its surface draws them to its centre. These contradictory forces determine the path of the two balls that appear to dance on the surface of the disc. Inside water condenses in several stages: first as a gas, like interstellar clouds, and then as tiny vividly vibrating droplets that gradually coalesce with each other to form larger droplets similar to dew. The movement of the water also influences the motion of the balls. All parts of this work are interrelated. It is the artist's attempt to contemplate the universe on an intimate scale.
1968 - Perspex disc containing water, turntable and projector lamp, perspex balls, perspex disc, 32”diameter
Courtesy of the artist and Rodeo, London / Piraeus
Liliane Lijn
°1939, New York, United States
In her practice, Liliane Lijn searches for the link between the natural, the feminine, the poetic and the technological. She was born in New York City and she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Upon her return to New York, she developed her artistic practice by experimenting with different materials and mediums. In the early 1960s, she had already exhibited her kinetic works in Europe. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick and received a fellowship from the ACE; International Artist Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley in collaboration with NASA and the Leonardo Network. More recently she was Artist in Residence at APC (Laboratoire Astroparticule et Cosmologie) in Paris and EGO (European Gravitational Observatory) in Pisa. Her work has previously been shown at Tate Britain, Rodeo London, the 2021 Gwangju Biennale, the 59th Venice Biennale 2022, and the 2023 Dunkirk Triennial. Haus Der Kunst, Munich will open a solo survey of her work in April 2024 that will tour to mumok, Vienna. Lijn lives and works in London. She is represented by Rodeo, London/Piraeus.