Cyclops
- Artist: Sir Eduardo Paolozzi
- Date: 1957
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: object: 1111 x 305 x 203 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Cyclops” by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, created in 1957 and acquired a year later. It’s a bronze sculpture that stands over a meter tall—about 1111 mm across, with an interesting depth of 305 mm and a width of roughly 203 mm. Paolozzi built the form by first pressing small metal pieces into a bed of moist clay, then pouring molten wax to create a mold from which he sculpted his model in sheets of wax. Finally, the piece was cast in bronze.
The skin of this towering figure is etched with imprinted fragments—broken machine parts and found debris—that give it a worn, almost rust‑like texture. The pierced armor and deliberate dilapidated state turn the piece into a playful critique of humanity’s condition in the nuclear age. It was shown at several shows, including the 2001–2003 “Eduardo Paolozzi” exhibition at Tate Modern and later at the “Gallery 16” series at Tate Britain.
In short, “Cyclops” blends mythic form with industrial collage to comment on technology’s impact on society—all rendered in solid bronze that gleams against the gallery walls.
See it in person
Cyclops is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
