GRAVITY BASED STRUCTUREs
WILLIAM bENNINGTON
CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE
FULMER BUCKINGHAMSHIRE UK 2019
Gravity based-Structure I , 2018 | Stainless steel, black concrete - 202 x 65 x 49 cm & Gravity based-Structure II, 2018 | Stainless steel, black concrete - 187 x 74 x 29 cm
A gravity-based structure is a support system held in place by its own weight, most commonly used in offshore oil platforms and wind turbines. Typically constructed in fjord landscapes shaped by ancient glacial movement and offering both shelter and depth, these monolithic forms rest upon the seabed without the need for anchoring. While engineered for industrial extraction or energy generation, their presence evokes a deeper tension between human ambition and the geological forces we rely upon. In the stillness of the fjord, the GBS becomes more than infrastructure: it is a monument to our entanglement with deep time, resource desire, and the increasingly precarious balance between technological permanence and environmental flux.
Photo: Corey Bartle-Sanderson