METALmorphosis, Fountain in Charlotte, US.
METALmorphosis is a stainless steel fountain at the Whitehall Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, made up of 40 motorized plates arranged in seven segments that together form a giant human head. Each segment rotates independently of the others, so the shape of the head constantly shifts and sometimes breaks apart entirely.
The work was created by Czech artist David Cerny and unveiled in Charlotte in the early 2000s. Cerny is known for large public sculptures that tend to provoke or surprise.
The sculpture stands in a corporate complex but draws visitors from across the city who come to watch the plates turn slowly. The movement feels almost hypnotic, and many people simply stop and stare, unsure of when the plates will align.
The fountain is on Arco Corporate Drive and is freely open to the public at any time. It is worth spending a few minutes watching the plates rotate, since the full effect only becomes clear after a while.
Water flows from the mouth of the head only when all seven segments align at the same time, which does not happen often. Visitors who catch that moment see a complete face with water pouring from it, before the plates begin turning again.
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