Yolanda Gutierrez

Artist Statement, 2003

Since the birth of humanity, the sun has been an object of adoration as one of the principle deities of land-based cultures. It comforts us with its heat, gives energy to every living being on the surface of the earth and its rhythmic cycles gives us a sense of time - a most important measurement in the development of all cultures. The sunÕs generosity reaches every aspect of our lives.

The artistic work that we have created in The South Carolina Botanical Garden is intended to invite the guests to experience a portion of the landscape that we have transformed into a garden for relaxation and contemplation. I hope guests will delight in all that surrounds them, in being wrapped in a pleasant landscape of elevations with rolling profiles that are embraced by forests and blanketed by the warmth of the sun.

This "center" follows the geometric pattern that we find in the heart of sunflowers. The installation is comprised of a series of"rammed-earth" elements in the form of half-circles that repetitively follow the form of radial spirals, giving the impression that they expand outward toward the space that surrounds them. In the same way that the sun radiates its light and warmly touches our skin, this sculpture caresses and follows the surface of the slope.

It will seasonally be painted orange with brown-eyed susans and perfumed with the freshness of the rosemary and oregano that surround the radiating pieces of clay. It is on this molded, native clay that we will be able to rest, play or walk while allowing ourselves to be carried by the rhythmic coming and going of the spirals that remind us that sacred geometry exists. It also invites us to reflect on natural miracles, like that of the sunflower, that day-by-day wisely contemplates the greatness of its king.

Yolanda Gutierrez - 2003