Mac Collins: Naiant

Exploring the fallibility of memory, and the elusive role this plays in forming the myths that dictate our social relationships and perspectives, Naiant – meaning to swim horizontally – looks to a prominent and infamous creature, the crocodile, as a symbol for the illusory nature of time, perception and consciousness.

Hand-carved by the artist in wood before being sand-cast in aluminium, Naiant features 72 individual ‘scutes’ (plates on the crocodile’s back) that together emerge from the rooftop as if protruding from shallow water – a metallic creature blending into its industrial environment and the silver waterways of Richard Wentworth’s Agora that flow underneath, shimmering like a wet hide when exposed to the sun.