Schiffsmasken / Ship’s Masks

The large sculptural fountain by Thomas Virnich references its location at the centre of Duisburg on several levels: Each of the three steel elements resembles the front of a ship throwing up a bow wave. This would make the circular openings the anchor holes in the ship’s prow. The artist chose these nautical forms because the city is home to the largest inland harbour in Europe. Instead of a guard rail, however, the steel elements were given a stepped end which refers to the nearby “Drei-Giebel-Haus” (Three Gable House), the oldest building in the city. Both the house and the harbour date back to the Middle Ages, when Duisburg was an important Hanseatic City and trading station. Together, the three flat elements with their central fold look like masks staggered by size one behind the other. Here, the artist works with the associations offered by the environment, but also with the interplay of positive and negative forms that is characteristic of his oeuvre. The shapes of the ship’s masks are once again mirrored as negative forms in the three brick basins of the fountain. The size of the basins, too, which together form a rectangle, is based on the size of the steel elements.

www.thomasvirnich.de
www.ruhrkunstmuseen.com