콘크리트 우물처럼 보이는 이 건물은 영국 마크 월링거의 주요 건축 작품이다. 이 작품은 Magna Carta의 지속적인 유산과 지속적인 중요성을 기념하는데, Magna Carta(마그나카르타)는 1215년 영국 존 왕이 귀족들의 압력에 굴복해, 칙허한 63개조의 법으로 일반적으로 '대헌장'이라고 한다. 수영장 스테인레스 측면이 안쪽으로 글씨가 세겨져 있어, 물은 그 글씨를 비추고 있다. 이렇게 'Writ in Water'는 물에 비춰야만 쓰여진 글씨를 읽을 수 있는 독창적인 구조물이 특징이다.
Writ in Water, is a major architectural artwork by Mark Wallinger, in collaboration with Studio Octopi, for the National Trust at Runnymede, Surrey, UK. The artwork celebrates the enduring legacy and ongoing significance of Magna Carta.
Writ in Water, is a major architectural artwork by Mark Wallinger, in collaboration with Studio Octopi, for the National Trust at Runnymede, Surrey. The artwork celebrates the enduring legacy and ongoing significance of Magna Carta.
Over 800 years ago, Runnymede witnessed the feudal barons forcing King John to seal Magna Carta - a founding moment in shaping the basis of common law across the world. Set in the heart of this ancient landscape, Writ in Water reflects upon the founding principles of democracy, and through a meeting of water, sky, and light, provides visitors with a space for reflection and contemplation.
The 15.4m diameter circular building emerges from the hillside at the base of Cooper’s Hill. The meadow it sits within is flanked by the River Thames on one side and an ox-bow lake on the other.
Responding to this feature of the landscape, Writ in Water takes its name from the inscription on John Keats’ gravestone, which reads, ‘Here lies one whose name was writ in water’.
Built in cubits, the most ancient unit of measure, the walls are constructed of rammed stone from the site itself, with a dark stained softwood roof and crushed gravel floor.
An exterior doorway leads to a simple circular labyrinth, in which the visitor can choose to turn left or right to reach an inner doorway that opens out into a central chamber. Here the sky looms through a wide oculus above a pool of water, as reflective as a still font.
The shot blasted stainless steel sides of the pool are inscribed on the inner side, the water reflecting the reversed and inverted lettering of Magna Carta Clause 39 as the visitor moves round the pool to reveal its words.
Artist Mark Wallinger comments:
“In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a court. In Writ in Water, the use of reflection to make the text legible plays against the idea of a law written in stone.
“Keats was to become one of the immortals and his words live anew when learnt and repeated by every succeeding generation. Similarly, although Magna Carta established the law and the nascent principles of human rights, the United Kingdom has no written constitution. What seems like a birthright has to be learned over and over and made sense of. Whether the words are ephemeral or everlasting is up to us.”
Writ in Water has been commissioned as part of the National Trust’s contemporary art programme, Trust New Art, which is inspired by its places.
from divisare