William Kentridge Action, 2018 Bronze Work: 101 x 75 x 48 cm
Action forms part of the Lexicon series, which is an accumulation of elemental symbols within the artist’s larger practice. The series of bronze sculptures functions as a form of visual dictionary. These sculptures are symbols, glyphs, suggested words and icons, many of which have been used repeatedly across projects and bodies of work. The glyphs can be arranged in order to construct sculptural sentences and rearranged to deny meaning. In late 2017 and early 2018, Kentridge chose a group of ten glyphs from the small-scale Lexicon set and made medium-scale versions, each of close to a metre in height.
“The glyphs started as a collection of ink drawings and paper cut-outs, each on a single page from a dictionary. Previously I had taken a drawing or silhouette and given it just enough body to stand on its own feet - paper, added to cardboard and put on a stand. With the glyphs, I wanted a silhouette with the weight that the shape suggested. A shape not just balancing in space, but filling space. Something to hold in your hand, with both shape and heft.”
— William Kentridge, Why Should I Hesitate: Sculpture (2019), Norval Foundation
