| The sculpture is
made from a steel arch of round pipe. At the top two large, highly polished, domed
stainless steel discs are fastened back to back. They reflect what is behind the viewer,
either the rising sun over the sea, or the lights and Norfolk Island Pines of Marine
Parade. The work is lined up to where the sun rose on the day of the dawning of the new
millennium. At night it is lit by rings of flexible neon tube between the two discs, which
shine out like a halo or rising moon or even an eclipse. Ecliptic is the name of the path that the sun traces
across the heavens throughout the four seasons. It is a reference to David's knowledge of
celestial navigation which he acquired while sailing to New Zealand. The concept of the
sculpture is thus drawn from direct personal experience. In "shooting the sun"
the navigator brings the sun down to the horizon in the sextant's mirrors, and rocks it
gently back and forth in an arc over the horizon. |
