Icarus

The myth of Icarus

I created a sculpture based on the myth of Icarus, one of my favorite stories when I was a child.

The myth of Icarus is a story from Greek mythology. It revolves around a young man named Icarus and his father, Daedalus. They were imprisoned on the island of Crete by King Minos. Daedalus crafted a set of wings for himself and his son to escape their captivity, using feathers and wax. He warned Icarus not to fly too close to the Sun, as the wax would melt, nor too close to the sea, as the wings would become heavy with moisture. However, Icarus became enchanted with the thrill of flight and, in his excitement, ignored his father's warnings. He flew higher and higher towards the Sun until the wax on his wings melted, causing him to fall from the sky. Icarus plummeted into the sea and drowned.

The sculpture

The myth of Icarus is a cautionary tale about the consequences of hubris and disobedience. It teaches the lesson of not overreaching one's limits and heeding the advice of those with more experience and wisdom.

My sculpture is a representation of human limits. We always use technology (represented by the shining wings in stainless steel) to overcome our limitations (cars, computers, AI, etc.). Still, we must remember not to overreach our limits to control it. Aesthetically, the contrast between the hand-forged "arms" in steel that supports the stainless steel "wings" is even more emphasized by the traditional connection made just with forged holes, like in ancient times.