Janine Antoni

Cradle, 1999

Steel

59 x 58 x 60.5 inches (149.9 x 147.3 x 153.7 cm)

Photographed by Larry Lamay

To make Cradle, Antoni melted down half of a bulldozer bucket and used the metal to create eight scoops, each diminishing in size. By placing these scoops inside she created an object that is holding itself. The scoops trace a path from landscape to the domestic sphere. She ends with a loop spoon, designed for the baby to begin feeding itself. Each scoop in Cradle has two roles, that of scooping and being scooped. Finally, the empty loop spoon exposes the tension between the need for separation and the need to be held.