Giovanni AnselmoDirection 1967-8

In the late 1960s, Anselmo began to make sculptures exploring forces such as torsion, gravity, and magnetism. His Direction series incorporate compasses that point to the magnetic north pole. This work is made by pushing a glass beaker with a needle inside it against a dampened cloth. ‘I formed a sort of trail that the energy of the magnetic fields, continuing to orient the needle, kept alive’, Anselmo said. Inside the gallery, the work serves as a reminder of the space outside it, and the invisible forces that structure the world.