Magnificent “ocean view”
Joel Adler, an industrial designer and artist from Australia, bases his creations on the user’s perception. He produces site-specific artworks, paintings, and contain data using a range of media that provide fresh perspectives on the surroundings. His artwork, Viewfinder, which is supported by six tonnes of steel and concrete and weighs 440 pounds, mimics the use of a telescope. The angular building juts out many feet over a cliff and reflects an incredible view of the spectacular surf breaking below. From such a vantage point, it was previously unavailable to witness the phenomenon.
Adler found inspiration for the design in both the interplay between people and environment and historical naval interfaces. Viewfinder appears to move the observer from the top of the cliff to its base hundreds of feet below by reflecting light and the sound of the crashing waves. The slightly Brutalist-styled concrete and steel sculpture offers a strange interface through which individuals may directly experience that piece of nature without ever coming into contact with it.
The most “real” things can occasionally seem surreal, as Alder said on Instagram. “I have heard a lot of remarks about Viewfinder that relate to a ‘amplification’ of the sounds below and a ‘digital,’ ‘projected,’ or ‘TV’ element inside the sculpture. Sometimes all it takes to fool the brain is a clear mirror and reflected sound. Viewfinder is entirely analogue, with no screens, power, or microphones (except for the ones filming it from the path). There was only one large mirror and a lot of steel.
Viewfinder was initially finished in 2019 for Sculpture by the Sea: Bondi, but has subsequently been relocated to its permanent home in Woollahra’s Lighthouse Reserve (a suburb of Sydney, Australia). The artwork is situated on a considerably higher cliff at its current site, providing an even wider view of the waves below. Three more tonnes of ballast material were required to stabilise the structure because of the additional height and the resulting increase in wind loading. Its base now houses around 35 cubic feet of solid steel.
For additional pictures of Joel Adler’s Viewfinder, scroll below. Visit the artist’s website or follow him on Instagram to learn more about his work.
Viewfinder, a sculpture that resembles a periscope, was created by Australian artist Joel Adler.
The building protrudes over the cliff’s edge and casts a stunning reflection of the sea hundreds of yards below.
