Greer Twiss  (born 1937), New Zealand,
Bikini Girl and shadow, 1968, fibreglass, steel, paint. Purchased 1982 with New Zealand Lottery Board funds

Shadow play

This figure has a built-in shadow - but its shape and direction may have no relation to any real shadow it might produce when light falls on the figure.

Greer Twiss was interested in exploring the difference between two-dimensional media like painting and photography - where shadows are shown as fixed - and sculpture, where shadows form and move in the real world.

Twiss’s series of bikini girl sculptures were inspired by pop art he saw in London in 1965. His previous bronze works had attracted more attention for their surface textures than their overall form. With this series, Twiss wanted to guide viewers back to the form, and away from a traditional reverence for bronze.

Note: This work has been removed to make way for the exhibition New Zealand at the Venice Biennale 2009.
More information about the Venice Biennale exhibition