A big spinning top (trottola in Italian) built to my scale and made out of cardboard, chicken-wire and weaved newspaper.
It tells a mish-mash story of the ferris wheel in Ras Beirut, Leonardo's Vitruvian Man, the gyroscopic movement, and human spin. It is an over-sized toy that goes with Walter Benjamin's quote: "The transformation of shattering experience into habit – that is the essence of play" –".
It was called 'Beirut Spinning Top - London 2010' before it was baptised Trottolone (huge trottla!) by friends in Torino. Because that was the first time it spun, the name stuck.
Thanks to the lovely people at Artintown, Francesca at Paratissima and Denis.
Trottolone at Artintown
detail
pull to spin
small child big top
to my scale
diagram
thought