The Tower of Infinite Problems

The Tower of Infinite Problems by Diana Al-Hadid is a large-scale, elegantly elaborate architectural structure that draws together a wide variety of materials and associations. Power, progress, technological and urban development and globalisation are represented here in a compendium of steel, plaster, fibreglass, wood, cardboard, wax and paint. The tower, which is a recurring motif in the Syrian-American artist's work evokes legend and myth, as well as the developing world, growing cities and capitalist societies. Tilted and displayed as it is, horizontally on the floor, it is redolent of a toppled spire, and acquires a more sinister symbolism. Made from base materials, its broken skeletal structure is a monument to human fallibility. Sprawling on the floor like an archaeological ruin, the sculpture plays with scale to place the viewer in an observer's role, encouraging us to move around it and try to place it within known forms of recognition. If viewed from the end, the two parts of the structure converge in an optical illusion, creating a spiral vortex suggesting a cyclical repetition of history.

Born in Aleppo, Syria and raised in New York City, Al-Hadid's work crosses cultures and disciplines, drawing inspiration from diverse sources including art history, science fiction and myth. Describing her work as 'impossible architecture', Al-Hadid draws stylistic elements from a variety of periods ranging from medieval churches to futuristic stadiums. Intenselypatterned and detailed structures, her works also reference the traditions of Islamic art, where abstract motifs are used to encourage contemplation of God's infinite wisdom. At once boldly architectural and fragile, Al-Hadid's delicate and elaborate sculptures often appear as if in a suspended state between corrosion and construction. Confounding our visual logic yet appealing to the romantic aestheticism often associated with ruins, her sculptures evoke a sense of spirituality and the mortality of humanity.