Navigator is a 2.3-metre-high cast-iron gorilla standing upright on a rocky outcrop at Gråberget in Gothenburg, gazing upwards at the stars in wonder. Having risen onto two legs, the gorilla encounters the ancient human discovery that the stars and planets can be used to navigate.
The work connects this early knowledge with another decisive development in human history: the production of iron. Standing directly on the ground rather than on a pedestal, the gorilla appears to be slowly melting back into the earth, as if returning to the material from which it came.
The sculpture becomes a reflection on our distant origins, our kinship with the gorilla and our place within the vast geological and cosmic timescales that surround us.
The work was commissioned as a permanent public artwork by Familjebostäder AB and Göteborg Konst in 2024.
The work was commissioned as a permanent public artwork by Familjebostäder AB and Göteborg Konst in 2024.