Fetus to Man

Fetus to Man is a permanent, outdoor commission for the city of Lille, France. This kinetic sculpture functions as a public clock while representing the cycle of life.

Fetus to Man consists of a movable bronze figure encircled by a steel ring measuring eight feet in diameter, mounted on a brick wall. The arms are connected to a stainless steel ball bearing that allows it to move freely within the circle. Actuated by an electric motor, the figure completes a cycle of movement every 12 hours, linking the passage of time with natural growth, aging and rebirth. The hands of the figure act as the hour hand of a clock.

MacMurtrie rendered the left and right sides of the three-dimensional, hand-pounded bronze figure differently, to contrast youth with age. At six o’clock – the bottom of the cycle – the figure is crouched in a fetal position. It incrementally unfurls to stand within the steel ring as the hours pass, reaching a fully vertical position at twelve o’clock. Just before the clock strikes twelve, the hand of the figure triggers a lever that causes it to rotate 180 degrees to face the other direction, revealing a completely different aspect. Over the next six hours, the aged figure enacts a slow decline back into the fetal position. At six o’clock the figure rotates once again to show its younger side, and begins the cycle anew.

Fetus to Man at once pays homage to the Flanders clock-making tradition, while also reflecting on the cycles of life and time. The work was installed in Lille in December 2003 on the occasion of the city’s inauguration as the European Cultural Capital, 2004.