An ambulatory roller coaster makes waiting in line fun
The walkable, large outdoor sculpture Tiger & Turtle Magic Mountain is currently in construction on the Heinrich Hildebrand Höhe in Duisburg Wanheim (D). It overtops the plateau with the artificially heaped-up mountain by 21m | 23yd so the visitor can rise by more than 45m | 49yd above the level of the landscape and enjoy an impressive view over the Rhine.
The curved flight of stairs inscribes like a signature on the landscape and recruits the nimbus of the classical roller coaster. Having a closer look, the public is disappointed in a disarming way. The visitor climbs on foot via differently steep steps the roller-coaster-sculpture. So the sculpture subtly and ironically plays with the dialectic of promise and disappointment, mobility and standstill.
You can just imagine the sunken expression on any kid’s face, once they get close enough to realize that this is, in fact, not a roller coaster, but a sculpture that looks like one.
-Jason Johnson
