Gäa / Gaia

Heinz-Günter Prager’s sculpture in front of the Bonn Kunstmuseum is named Gaia. In Greek mythology, Gaia represents the earth and the first goddess to emerge from the chaos. Her name is of Indo-European origin and one possible meaning is procreator. She was seen as a mother – creating and nurturing life, as well as a deity of death – taking man back in to her bosom.
Heinz-Günter Prager captures this subject in an abstract image: two segments were cut out of a thick, untreated steel disk. The rust on the surface gives it a color reminiscent of earth or clay. The single entity has become a sort of trinity, since the sculpture is now made up of three parts; nonetheless, the original form is still recognizable and can be understood by the viewer. The artist delivers a depiction of the origin story that seems to represent antiquity far than a personified sculpture.