Stones suspended over water for a public space

In the 1970s Ken Unsworth began to make small-scale objects and maquettes that were used to test ideas for full-scale sculptures. 'Stones suspended over water for a public space' 1985 proposes a complex suspension of river stones over a hexagonal pool, here represented by a mirror. Dozens of holes in each of the three surrounding walls reveal where the artist may have tested the height and frequency of the hanging supports. Alongside an interest in symmetry and balance, Unsworth’s commitment to natural rhythms is revealed in the work’s criss-crossing strings and found river stones. While this maquette was not realised as a full-scale sculpture, it relates to many of Unsworth’s installations of hanging or propped river stones, including 'Suspended stone circle II' 1974–77, 1988 in the Art Gallery of New South Wales collection.