97.5° Arc x 8

Credit: Gift of Dato' Kho Hui Meng 2015, Collection of SMU

This sculpture is inspired by mathematics and made in steel. Set against the landscape of Campus Green, the two-storey sculpture stands just as tall as the trees in the surroundings.

The sculpture, arcing at precisely 97.5°, is by French conceptual artist Bernar Venet who has described his sculptures as sober and brutal. And while it might initially seem like an antagonistic presence among the organic and oblique-shaped trees on Campus Green, the sculpture quietly complements the landscape with its simplicity, balance and grace. Venet also leaves the surface of his sculptures unpainted to develop a raw reddish-brown patina through interaction with the natural elements.