AETERNUM

Grimanesa Amoros video thumbnail for AETERNUM

AETERNUM at Shelter Island, New York

Location: Shelter Island | New York, 2023
4.2 ft x 4.2 ft x 16 ft (1.28 m x 1.28 m x 4.88 m)
LEDs, diffusion material, custom lighting sequence, electrical hardware.

AETERNUM is a 16-foot light sculpture created for a private residence on Shelter Island, its luminous form tracing the Incan lunisolar calendar’s eternal dance between sun and moon in a work conceived as both a personal tribute to two collectors who see themselves as twin flames and a meditation on time, change, and everlasting existence.

Drawing on the Incan lunisolar calendar, one of the ancient world’s most sophisticated timekeeping systems, AETERNUM positions the eternal movements of the sun and moon as the conceptual engine of a work that meditates on the cyclical nature of all human experience.

The hourglass, central to the work’s form and symbolism, was chosen in direct response to the collectors themselves, whose bond Amorós understood as two flames perpetually in motion toward and around each other, never extinguished and never static.

The moment of resetting the hourglass, when what appeared to be ending becomes beginning again, is the conceptual heart of AETERNUM, with Amorós using that gesture to dissolve the illusion of conclusive endings and open the work toward infinite possibility.

The title, from the Latin for eternity, frames the sculpture not as a fixed object but as a living flame, one that burns continuously through its custom lighting sequence and changes in quality and character with the movement of natural light across Shelter Island’s landscape.

Grimanesa Amoros explores the concept of time through the lens of ancient Incan culture. Fascinated by the Incan invention of the lunisolar calendar, which comprised two parallel timekeeping systems to track the celestial movements of the sun and moon, Amoros delves into the eternal dance performed by these cosmic bodies.

AETERNUM, Amoros’s artwork is an homage to the passage of time and a meditation on eternity. The term embodies the notion of everlasting existence, perpetual motion, and an eternal flame that never ceases to burn. Central to the artwork is the narrative of the collectors, who see themselves as twin flames whose profound connection is symbolized by an hourglass.

Within the hourglass, the sands of time steadily trickle down, representing the inevitable nature of change. Inspired by the moment the hourglass is reset, she breaks the illusion of conclusive endings and embraces the infinite possibilities.

Through AETERNUM, Grimanesa Amoros explores the interplay between time, change, and eternity—oﬀering a thought-provoking exploration of the human experience within the vast tapestry of time.