Simon Lee Gallery is proud to announce The Axis of the World, a permanent installation at Houghton Hall by Italian artist Claudio Parmiggiani.
The Axis of the World is a column made from Ombra di Caravaggio marble, anchored in the garden of the 18th century Palladian house. This seemingly infinite pillar penetrates the Earth, piercing its core, while simultaneously climbing over 16 metres in height to touch the sky, caressing the sun and the clouds during the day and embracing the moon and the stars at night. It represents an eternal column that connects the World and the Cosmos, Earth and Heaven; in the artist’s words, ‘A twisting tower, a work that raises high, that aspires to great heights, spinning around itself in its ascent without end’.