Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Defying Gravity

I saw them first in a crowded downtown shopping district in Toronto. Odd configurations of stones were stacked atop one another in a surreal balancing act. Were they secured with glue or some new bonding agent?

Adrian Gray is a professional stone balancer in London. He started placing different shaped rocks precariously on top of each other one day because he wanted “to make a beautiful family group of stones”.

His craft began more than eight years ago, and he has since constructed all manner of impossible looking sculptures on the Dorset shoreline near his home.

“I realised that stones would balance in a really strange way. People come up to me and ask if I’ve stuck the stones down with blue tack or glue. Then I simply lift off the top stone and they look astonished.”

This gravity-defying technique has led to Gray’s sculptures being exhibited in local galleries and cafes.

Sounds like a delightful hobby for aspirants: the Zen of stone balancing.

Via The Independent. See more of Gray's work here and his website here.