William Pye Water Scupture

'Agua na Oca', Sao Paulo, Brazil 2010/11

 

In November 2010 five water sculptures were shipped to Sao Paulo for a major exhibition on the theme of water. The exhibition was held in the Oca building designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the 1950s. Natural light floods into this vast shallow dome through portholes punched around the perimeter. William Pye was the only British artist exhibiting there and the only one to incorporate water - all other exhibits simulate or represent water by various means. Each of the five water sculptures says something about the way water behaves: Scylla shows a vortex, Tavola exploits reflection, Delos features laminar flow jets, Coanda shows how water clings to surfaces, and Aureola features water activity in a double skinned transparent dome that can be viewed from inside and out.

Three of the sculptures then went to Rio de Janeiro for the 'Agua no Rio' show.

The exhibition ran from November 2010 to June 2011

  • First day of the exhibition
  • Scylla, Delos and Aureola
  • The dome of the Oca building in Sao Paulo
  • The Oca
  • Overview of the five water sculptures
  • Close up on Coanda
  • The air core vortex in Scylla
  • Scylla seen through the laminar jets of Delos