Breathless
Victoria & Albert Museum
Breathless
Sculptural Installation
2001 (made)
ARTIST/MAKER
Cornelia Parker (maker)
PLACE OF ORIGIN
London (made)
'Breathless' is a work commissioned specially from the British artist Cornelia Parker for display in the new British Galleries. It was specifically designed to fill the oculus or open space newly created between the two floors of the Galleries in a corner. It is made of 54 defunct brass band instruments which have been squashed flat and hung from wires. They are designed to be seen from both above and below, with polished upper surfaces and tarnished undersides. the work is an attempt by the artist to explore such ideas of duality as silence/noise, upper class/lower class, and death/resurrection.