The Ebbsfleet Landmark Project Limited

Daniel Buren proposed for the Ebbsfleet Landmark what he called a 'signal', a tower of five stacked open 'cabins' constructed from white concrete, through which passes a single laser beam of light. The empty spaces of the cabins would have been projected onto the floor - with the exact same measurements - in four directions across the ground, like reflections, each containing sculpted stairs to allow visitors to climb to the heart of the work, which Buren refered to as the 'treasure'.

The 'treasure' would have been a jewel-like cabin, painted in strong colours of red, blue, green and yellow. In the very centre, positioned at 45°, would have been a mirror-polished stainless steel parallelogram in which the reflections of people, skies and landscape will appear to visitors as they climb to enter the work.

Buren was very interested in the shifting views and experiences the public would have had with the tower, from macro to micro. The bold silhouette viewed from a distance, often quickly, would have contrasted with the individual's experience of walking up the terraces, entering the 'treasure' and discovering the work at their leisure. This impact would have been transformed again at night when the tower would be illuminated with internal lighting and the laser beam piercing through the centre of the tower.

Akin to the principal of stacking Russian dolls, each cabin in the tower would have decreased in size and be able to fit perfectly into the one before. Buren used the 8.7cm wide stripes, which are a famous motif in his work on the terrace steps, where black and white marble would have been inlaid to create a sort of a carpet up to the 'treasure'. The precise 8.7cm proportion is echoed throughout the tower, with the proportions of the top cabin an exact multiple of this dimension as well as the 'treasure' 46m below.

"When you see the big tower from underneath which I think is a fantastic view you have a perception of the physicality of these stacking beams of concrete going up... which are only visible if you can approach and go inside the work. It is something that you will never, never see from the distance or even guess it is there." - Daniel Buren, 2008

Daniel Buren is considered to be France's most celebrated artist. His work over the past 40 years has included unforgettable interventions and thought-provoking public art projects. He is best known for using regular, contrasting stripes – always a standard 8.7cm – to integrate with the visual surface and architectural space of landmark architecture. All Buren's interventions are 'paintings' that appropriate and colour the space in which they are sited.

Buren's work is site specific. Throughout his career he has been concerned with the context in which his work is shown and how in turn his works can draw attention to the individual characteristics of a site or structure that frames it.

Buren is famous for works such as 'Les Deux Plateaux' which he created in 1986 in the courtyard of the Palais Royal in Paris, in the same year he represented France at the Venice Bienalle and won the Golden Lion Award. Buren also recently won the commission to transform Bilbao's La Salve bridge to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum in the city. Buren has exhibited extensively throughout the world and in 2007 was awarded the prestigious Praemium Imperiale for painting by the Japan Art Association.

Daniel Buren is represented in the UK by the Lisson Gallery
www.lissongallery.com|