The Wheel of Life
In Oslo, with the Vigeland park, there is this sculpture, “The Wheel of Life”, created by Gustav Vigeland as part of his larger installation of more than 200 works.
Here is a circle, formed by intertwined human bodies, locked together in an unbroken ring. The figures flow into one another, connected in a continuous movement.
Vigeland devoted much of his life to this park, and it represents a complete artistic vision. Every sculpture, bridge, and pathway was designed under his direction. He was focused on the human condition and chose to portray people in their essential form. His work returns to themes of birth, struggle, aging and death. The Wheel of Life is a statement where all of these stages are expressed in one continuous movement.
Vigegland designed this piece to represent the cycle of human life, each figure is both an individual and part of the whole. The suggestion is that our lives are never truly separe from those around us.
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