It is Day 9, and we are more than 100 hours into a truly nail-biting installation. Yesterday, one of the 10,000 individually planed sticks of wood that are being used to create Aeneas Wilder’s newest installation fell to the floor. Had that stick hit another on its descent, the whole structure would have collapsed before we’d even had a chance to open the doors to visitors. Few of the Mead Gallery team dare enter the walls of this towering yet fragile structure, holding their breath as they view from afar Aeneas gently balancing yet one more slither-thin piece of wood upon the thousands below. Occasionally, as the raised platform from which he works is moved, you can see the entire edifice sway. I’m only hoping it survives the duration of the exhibition.
Aeneas Wilder: Untitled #162 opens in the Mead Gallery on Sat 6 Oct.
