Fairlead (Bassin de la Grande Joliette)

The largest of the three works Vasco showed at Borry Noord this summer, and close to the limit of what the yard crane will lift.

The source was a fairlead assembly from the Bassin de la Grande Joliette, a component that guides mooring line and takes a great deal of load without ever being looked at. Vasco is drawn to this category of object: engineered to a tolerance, entirely anonymous, and now obsolete.

At 1,880 kg the sculpture is near the top of his working range. The scale is not a decision about composition. It is the capacity of the crane he shares with the boat repair firm next door.