My Mind

My Mind

This piece that resembles a gate on wheels stands 7 feet tall. Centered in the sculpture are two prison-like doors that swing open opposite each other. Each door is adorned with an antique padlock, which can be locked or left open. The wheels of the work are shackled to the base.

“My Mind” symbolizes changing situations such as promises made and sometimes broken due to misunderstandings or conflicts. The bars symbolize the tensions between one’s expectations and one’s reality. The gold leaf will tarnish like the deterioration of the ideal transitioning into the real. The wheels represent the comings and goings of different situations. The central gates present a two-way passage of a changing situation where the person usually, but not always, goes in one way and out the other.

Location

Ironwoods Park, 14701 Mission Road, Leawood, KS

Artist / Medium

Michael McClanahan / Painted steel amd 24-carat gold leaf

Dates

Dedicated May 27, 2010; Relocated May 2012

Owner

City of Leawood

This was the first privately donated artwork to the City of Leawood. It was originally displayed at the corner of College Boulevard and Tomahawk Creek Parkway. Due to concerns about flooding in that area, the work was relocated to its current location in Ironwoods Park. It can be found about a quarter mile east of the main parking lot near the fishing pond.

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