Kunsthalle Mannheim / Cem Yücetas
)Hector-Bau > Ebene 2 > Schaudepot
Intro
The force which the four closely crowded figures are exposed to in Kenneth Armitage’s »People in the Wind« can literally be read from their thin and elongated bodies. Their clothing appears to billow as they fight the natural force of the wind, which can also be read as a metaphor for the perils of existence.
At the same time the group, depicted using an abstract formal language, conveys a feeling of community. The figures stand close together and with their little hands protruding from their two-dimensional clothing appear to offer collective resistance to the inevitable.
This gallows humor, illuminating the absurdities of existence with its tragicomedy, also belongs to the work of the British sculptor who gained international recognition in the 1950s with his groups »People in the Wind« and »Family Going for a Walk«.
Kunsthalle Mannheim