1969—1970
Mirror Displacement (Brambles)
Robert Smithson
1969
1969—1970
The mirrors in this particular displacement join together in our visual perception to form a canvas, upon which an abstracted tangle of brambles seems to be painted. In actuality the mirrors’ reflections of sky provide a contrastingly light background, against which the darker brambles can be distinguished. Reflected and unreflected shapes morph together to create a striking visual array. The displacement calls our attention to details of the site that would ordinarily go unnoticed, which harkens to Smithson’s sentiment that the existence of place hinges on its representation.
