M. Le Blanc

2010

glass, wire, Ōamaru stone
1840H x 400W x 400mmD

Series: Glazed I’s, Subject-Object

Using the masculine nom de plume adopted by the revolutionary C18th French mathematician Sophie Germain, M. Le Blanc rebuilds the bones of her enterprise. Unable to attend lectures or present academic papers, Sophie Germain invented M. Le Blanc (translated as Mr White) as a means of defying the rules that prevented her from obtaining knowledge and competing with her male peers.

Like nerves of steel inside a fragile strategy, M. Le Blanc encases a polished steel grid in crystal clear glass. The grid, a mathematical tool, is cut into an I-form, a symbol of Sophie Germain's quest to have the status of 'a person'. Discretely clamped between two piers of white stone, the sculpture displays the need for guile to achieve deception. Albeit supporting, the white masonry is raw and rough, and rubs against the shining clear-cut glass.