Panamarenko

1984

Object, 110 x 180 x 180 cm, 2 x (150 cm), 150 x 150 cm.
Materials: metal plates, magnet

Collection: Collection BNP Paribas Fortis/Long-term loan to M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. BRP01).

'Thanks to the plumbiet, vikings could navigate...' - Panamarenko

The installation Big Plumbite is a magnetic rotor consisting of four red drums, each of which has sixty rectangular magnets fixed round the outside. The drums are supported by two longitudinal shafts perpendicular to each other. The
10,000-volt plumbite motors rotate the synchronized magnetic cylinder mechanism, generating powerful magnetic forces in the field above the machine, in which metal discs and flying saucers can hover. The title of the installation refers to the naturally magnetic lead ore ‘plumbite’.

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The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

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