Tiger and Turtle, Magic Mountain

As of 13 November the large-scale sculpture by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth is open to the public.

As of now one can visit Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth's Tiger and Turtle, a sleek curved form like that of a rollercoaster, on the highest peak of the park-like space, the Heinrich Hildebrand Höhe, in the South of Duisburg. The sleek, internally lit sweeps and curves of the construction inscribe themselves like a signature into the scenery and soar till the height of 21 meters. From a distance, the dynamic metallic track creates the impression of speed and exceeding acceleration. Viewed from close up, the tubular form is seen to enclose a stairway which elaborately winds and unwinds. The visitor can climb the art work by foot. Although the course describes a closed loop, it is impossible to accomplish it as the looping emerges to be a physical barrier. On top, at the highest point of the sculpture – 45 meters above ground – the visitor is rewarded with an extraordinary view over the landscape of the Western Ruhr.

Tiger and Turtle refers with its immanent dialectic of speed and deadlock to the situation of change in the region and its turn towards renaturation and restructuring. While the sculpture conveys an absurd twist regarding the inherent expectation of the image created by a rollercoaster, it reflects its own role as potential trans-regional landmark which will be inevitably pocketed as image. It counters the logic of permanent growth with an absurd-contradictory sculpture that refuses a definite interpretation.

All the photos © Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth, "Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain", Landmarke Angerpark, Culture Capital Office Duisburg 2010. City of Duisburg in cooperation with Sonja Becker + Rüdiger Karzel, bk2a architektur (Cologne), Arnold Walz, designtoproduction (Stuttgart), ifb frohloff staffa kühl ecker (Berlin)

With a base of 44 x 37 meters and 21-meter construction height, the sculpture is not only one of the largest in Germany, but also a masterpiece of engineering. The stairway notably and elegantly unspools along a constantly evolving three-dimensional contour, accomplishing a heretofore impossible feat.

On top, at the highest point of the sculpture – 45 meters above ground – the visitor is rewarded with an extraordinary view over the landscape of the Western Ruhr

Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth have jointly created artistic projects in public space and exhibition venues for the past eight years. Their works are site-specific and developed contextually, reflecting the manifold conditions of publicness. Since 2007 the artist duo lives and works in Hamburg, where Heike Mutter holds professorship at the Hochschule für bildende Künste.

The visitor can climb the art work by foot

Design: Heike Mutter & Ulrich Genth
Planning partners: Sonja Becker + Rüdiger Karzel, bk2a architektur / Köln; Arnold Walz, parametric 3-d planning, designtoproduction / Stuttgart; Michael Staffa, planning of structural framework, ifb frohloff staffa kühl ecker / Berlin

Culture Capital Office Duisburg 2010, management Dr. Sönke Dinkla Project partner: City of Duisburg, district government Münster, Ministry of the Environment NRW, bk2a architektur (Cologne), designtoproduction (Stuttgart), ifb frohloff staffa kühl ecker (Berlin)

With 44 x 37 meters base and 21 meters construction height the sculpture is one of the largest in Germany

Tiger and Turtle, Magic Mountain

As of 13 November the large-scale sculpture by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth is open to the public.

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