In early September 2023 a proposal was submitted to an art-for-architecture competition for the Helmholtz-Zentrum in Berlin. The requirement was to make an artistic intervention in the area of the central entrance space. The proposal entitled “Undula” relates to the synchroton radiation source BESSY II at the Helmholtz-Zentrum.
Idea / underlying principle:
BESSY II is a synchrotron radiation source. A ray of electrons is forced into a slalom path by means of undulators and in this way can be used for experimental research. The symbolic sculpture Undula depicts this process. It traces the slalom path with seeming weightlessness along the concrete sails into the open space. The intricate form of the sculpture dematerialises it and enables it to match its content.
The type of artistic intervention:
Undula gives a signal. It takes its cue from the architecture and adopts the formal language of the concrete sails. Through the response of the wave form to the rhythm of the concrete sails, they become a model of the undulators. The architecture is thus incorporated into the artwork and becomes an actor within the artistic expression.