
Len Lye Sky Snake 1965 (reconstruction 2019). Courtesy the Len Lye Foundation Collection. Photo Francis Vissers
Exhibition
29 Feb 2020 — 11 Apr 2021
Len Lye: Sky Snakes
Never seen before, Len Lye's Sky Snake in installation of seven swirling Sky Snakes.
A new large-scale kinetic sculpture from the Len Lye Foundation and Team Zizz!
Debuting at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in installation of seven, ceiling mounted spinning Sky Snakes.
Sky Snake is a dancing kinetic sculpture. A rotating, spinning chain creates harmonic wave patterns or figures familiar to Lye's other works, and traveling waves that move up and down the chain. A brass ball at the bottom end of the chain represents the head of a snake.
The are two versions of Sky Snake - one is a single Snake, shown at the Albright Knox Gallery in 1965, and recently reconstructed for the Museum Tinguely exhibition in Basel, Len Lye - Motion Composer. This single Sky Snake is exhibited closer to the floor than the version at the Len Lye Centre, which has seven higher Snakes in accordance to Lye's instructions.
This exhibition has been extended due to popular demand.