Untitled

Ledelle Moe says her sculptural forms are “both figures and landscapes.” Untitled is a large, boulderlike sculpture that resembles a human figure curled into a fetal position. It is located in a clearing beside a trail in the woods at the Museum Park.

The forms I make become both figures and landscapes simultaneously. These ambiguities of form I find fascinating and keep me looking, seeing and wanting to understand the world around me.

Ledelle Moe

According to the artist, this work is intended to resemble part of the landscape in the form of a large rock or boulder. Although this sculpture appears to be solid, it is hollow inside. To create the sculpture, Moe first built a welded steel frame. She covered the frame with mesh tied with wire and then poured a concrete mixture over the form and modeled it. The specially treated concrete she uses gives her work a texture that makes it look old and weathered.

Moe is a contemporary sculptor from Durban, South Africa. She is best known for creating large-scale, hollow sculptures of human heads and figures that resemble fallen monuments from past civilizations. Her work often explores themes like strength and vulnerability, and the destruction and erosion of monuments and memorials in different cultures throughout history. 

What seemed very permanent became very impermanent. I feel South Africa is the root of where I come from. It’s definitely influenced how I’ve come to understand things – the loss and memorialization of certain things.

Ledelle Moe

Another monumental sculpture by Moe, Collapse I, is located on the main grounds of the Museum Park. Both Untitled and Collapse I are long-term loans from the artist.