The artist Ian Tyson proposed this sculpture and it was commissioned by Anne Dilman to commemorate her late husband, the distinguished philosopher, Ilham Dilman (1930-2003).

The location and geometry of the sculpture is in direct response to Denys Lasdun’s Ziggurats. The title refers to the principle of proximity involved in advanced mathematics and abstract philosophical thought. However, the title could also apply literally, as the two geometric forms interlace, eventually coming into close proximity to one another without forming a continuous structure. Finally, the transparent nature of the sculpture, which might also suggest proximity, refers also to the closeness, both physically and conceptually, between the sculpture and nearby architecture.

Ian Tyson (b.1933) was born in Cheshire and studied at the Birkenhead School of Art. He taught at the Farnham (1959-1966), the St. Martin’s (1964-1984) and Wimbledon – and was a Brinkley Fellow at the Norwich School of Art (now Norwich University of the Arts). He is a sculptor as well as a painter, printmaker and renowned book artist. Tyson curated an exhibition of Book Art at the University (Elizabeth Fry Building) in 1999. The sculpture was installed in 2006 and now forms part of the Sainsbury Centre Sculpture Park.

Calvin Winner, November 2020