“Can you imagine,” you ask, pausing for a moment to let the mystery hang in the air, “a house that was literally turned inside out?” The House (Heart) sculpture at Discovery Green stands before you, a bronze behemoth that seems to be simultaneously bursting out and folding in on itself. It’s a perplexing, powerful piece, and you can’t help but feel a sense of disorientation as you look at its twisted, contorted form.
Artist Jim Dine created this sculpture in 1983. It was given to the park as a gift in 2013. The sculpture is meant to be a reflection of everyday life, of the simple things that we take for granted. The tools embedded in the original clay model of the sculpture, such as hammers and axes, represent the human past, the link with our hands, and the history of work that shaped our existence. But Dine also wanted to evoke childhood notions of romantic love, and to explore the idea of heart in a more complex way. The sculpture has become a very popular spot in the park, with people from all walks of life coming to see it.