An ingenious new sculpture entitled Centre of the World was inaugurated on 24th November 2013 by The Jerusalem Foundation at the newly dedicated Teddy Kollek Park in the heart of Jerusalem.
Based on a Renaissance map by Heinrich Bünting showing Jerusalem at the centre of three continents, the new permanent sculpture was unveiled by the artist, Breuer-Weil, just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem within sight of Mount Zion and David’s Tower. This new work, selected from designs submitted by leading contemporary artists, allows visitors to enter the elegant sphere-like structure for contemplation. The exterior reflects the walls of Jerusalem by day; seas and oceans are magically suggested by the cut-away sections between continents which at night become patches of light as the work is internally lit, creating a magical, lantern-like presence.
The sculpture was commissioned from Breuer-Weil by Helene Stone-Laor (1933-2013) in memory of her late husband Eran Laor (1900-1990), an antiquarian map expert who owned Bünting’s map and hundreds of other legendary early maps of Israel.
