Sunny Life

/ “Aurinkoinen elämä”, “ Яркая жизнь” /

/ Fiber concrete sculpture, height Ca 3.1 meters, ball diameter 2.5 meters, weight 11 tons /

Author Oliver Soomets

2023

Many thanks to Peep Roosmann, Argo Männik and Kristjan Tammjärv

In an increasingly fast-paced and mobile world, rest becomes ever more crucial. “Sunny Life” serves as a reminder that one indispensable aspect of human existence is precisely relaxation.

Both ourselves and the entire atomic inner world are created from materials synthesized in stars, and at the core of all living life is the Sun, either in a direct or metaphorical sense. Besides the sun, organisms need, among other things, water and food, sometimes companionship and experiences. These needs are so universal that they define the essence of being alive.

As organisms evolve, the need for rest becomes part of their basic necessities. Therefore, more complex forms of behavior develop on an increasingly “restful” foundation (Kalevi Kull, “Teoreetilisest bioloogiast” (2019)).

As symbolic elements in the artwork “Sunny Life,” an inflatable swim ring and a ball are used. The dominant motif of the ball is the archetype of leisure and play – the beach ball.

Technical implementation

The casting of this sculpture involved great risks and challenges, as it is probably the first such large and massive one-piece cast sculpture in the world, i.e. without a cast stripe. Usually, all bottles and cans have one joining stripe in the middle – a casting stripe. You can see it and feel it with your finger, that is, they are cast together from two halves. More complex and larger objects usually have even more joints.
This sculpture is cast in one go, in one piece! For this purpose, it was necessary to keep a 4 cubic meter air bubble inside the ball motionless and stable during pouring, which wants to rise up from the liquid concrete like a fishing line cap. The upward force of this bubble is Ca 10.5 tons. And it succeeded as shown in the picture. Good luck to all of us!