Martin Boyce

We Are the Breeze (Concrete Leaves), 2006

In 2002 Martin Boyce came across a black-and-white photograph of concrete sculptures made by Joël and Jan Martel (Paris, 1925) modeled after trees. The graphically analyzed structure of the trees became for Boyce a foundational module for the invention of a reduced alphabet of constructive forms and signs. All elements of Boyce’ oeuvre­­─the hanging treelike light sculptures, furniture, poster, birds houses, lamps or telephone booths─are based on this ‘iconic image’ of nature transformed into abstraction. The wall sculpture We Are the Breeze (Concrete Leaves), 2006, gives an easy handed written image of speech to the title in brackets: The abstract letters Concrete Leaves rise, fall and waver in direction of reading from the left to the right across the wall, seemingly punctuated by formalized lamp shades.