Patterns of Absence

n.d. in the room The Conrad’s Wheel

Conrad Shawcross is a very important figure in the Magic Megève project. His work is spread across the entire chalet, from the doors, to the lights in the spa and the skiroom. This artist’s work could be considered the leitmotif, the fil rouge in Magic Megève.
Conrad Shawcross’ sculptures explore subjects that lie on the borders of geometry and philosophy, physics and metaphysics. Attracted by failed quests for knowledge in the past, he often appropriates redundant theories and methodologies to create ambitious structural and mechanical montages, using a wide variety of materials and media, and often working on an epic scale. Different technologies and natural forces inspire his forms, but his mysterious machines and structures remain enigmatic, filled with paradox and wonder. Some have an absurdist melancholy feel, whilst others tend to the sublime.

The wall-based work, entitled Patterns of Absence, continues the artist’s exploration of optics and visual perception. The work comprises 2 coloured perforated disks. The optic potency of the works is further enhanced by the activating a mechanical system that turns each disks. The movement of these creates optic interference and so further activates receptors in the eye. Their incremental counter rotation allows light to permeate through the voids within their surfaces, producing an effect that triggers associations reminiscent of those experienced in nature, such as the shifting light upon the sea, the twisting motion of a vortex, or a murmuration of starlings.