Haus Wittgenstein/Inverleith House

Haus Wittgenstein/Inverleith House

Artist: Alan Johnston

Date: 1995

Materials: Beeswax, charcoal and varnish on stone

Ownership: On permanent loan from the artist

Made to accompany the award-winning exhibition of the same name held at Inverleith House during the 1995 Edinburgh Festival, this sculpture by the Scottish artist Alan Johnston (b.1945) related directly to two major philosophical figures; Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) and David Hume (1711-1776). The upper edge of the work incorporates a detail from the circular tomb of David Hume, located in the Calton Burial Ground in Edinburgh, whilst the lower edge refers to the raising of the ceiling (by 3cms) of the House Wittgenstein built in Vienna (1928), where Johnston made an exhibition in counterpart to the one at Inverleith House, during the previous year (1994).

This work has also been discussed as part of a previous post by Tony Garn.