Liliane Lijn - Extrapolation

1962

Large abstract design based on the extrapolation of three sets of triangular steel plates fixed to three central steel shafts. The whole arrangement is fixed within a triangular tubular steel base. Now housed on a raised concrete base whereas formerly it sat on the pavement. The brief for the competition was to design a sculpture for the inner courtyard of the Norwich Central Library Esperanto Way. There were 147 entries and Lilian Lijn’s was chosen since it suggests the leaves of a book as she had ‘played with the idea of layers or leaves as in the pages of a book.’

The sculpture is site-specific to the library context. It was originally accompanied by a memorial fountain to the 2nd Air Division USAAF 8th Air force, designed by Laurel Cooper. Continued development of the library meant that the courtyard had to be remodelled in 1993 when Extrapolation was removed to UEA and thus spared the disastrous fire which destroyed the library in August 1994. In 2000 the remains of the mosaic were displayed at t