WHERE ART AND ENGINEERING MEET: ‘UMBILICAL’ BY CONRAD SHAWCROSS
British contemporary artist Conrad Shawcross has recently unveiled an innovative art installation – The Nervous System (UMBILICAL) – featuring slewing bearings supplied by R. A. Rodriguez (UK) Limited in collaboration with Brier Solutions Limited.
The exhibit is Conrad Shawcross’s most ambitious rope machine to date, featuring 40 interlocking arms that will incrementally weave a rope in a sequence of orbits that will never repeat. For the project, leading engineering distributor R. A. Rodriguez (UK) Limited has supplied a series of bespoke slewing bearings, from manufacturer Rodriguez GmbH, totalling 44 pcs for the project.
‘The Nervous System (UMBILICAL)’ is a major new commission for MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, that will be displayed at Here East, London, from the 11th of September until the 2nd of November 2025. It is part of the ‘Rope Makers’ series by Conrad Shawcross.
At 10m high and spanning 12m in diameter, the work is monumental in both its scale and complexity – marking an extraordinary achievement of art and engineering. The work corresponds to our solar system: the rotating spools relate to the aberration of planets orbiting around our sun within a galaxy which over millennia is flattening and expanding as it spins. The rope pulling through the centre recalls the sun’s journey through the galaxy, travelling at an incomprehensible speed, with its accompanying planets and 891 moons on their helical paths.
In collaboration with Brier Solutions Limited, a Sheffield-based company that specialises in turnkey engineering solutions, R. A. Rodriguez (UK) Limited provided 44 slewing bearings of several different sizes for the installation. With over 50 years of experience in supplying bearings to a range of industries, R. A. Rodriguez (UK) Limited is a trusted technical distributor for a range of international brands. The bearings supplied in this case were from German supplier Rodriguez GmbH, specialists in the manufacture of precision bearings and linear technology.
Mat Braithwaite, Director of Brier Solutions Limited, remarks:
“Great engineering is often the unsung hero, in the background quietly doing its job. So it’s an amazing opportunity for Brier Solutions Limited and R. A. Rodriguez (UK) Limited to have their beautifully engineered designs and products up front and centre for everyone to see.”
The range of slewing rings supplied by R. A. Rodriguez (UK) Limited are used in demanding applications across a range of industries, including renewable energy, oil and gas, aerospace, heavy equipment and medical systems, among others. The bearings are available in a variety of materials and are popular due to their significant load-carrying capabilities and high levels of precision.
Conrad Shawcross, the artist, comments:
“R. A. Rodriguez has caused a revolution in the industry and has turned this project completely around.”
Following the closure of the exhibition in November, The Nervous System (UMBILICAL) will be crated and shipped to Hobart, Tasmania, to be installed permanently in its own atrium at The Museum of Old and New Art from 2027. The work will run continuously, only stopping for a change of its spools once a year.
