The maquette of Bicho Pássaro do Espaço, 1960. Both made from aluminium but measures approximately half the size.

Extract from "Lygia Clark: Estudos E Maquette" exhibition press release, 2010:

" ... The rupture in Clark’s practice, as she abandoned drawing and collage in favour of interactive sculptures, such as the Bichos (Animals) and the Estruturas de caixas de fósforus (Matchbox Structures) that could be handled by the (be)holder, was rooted in her belief that art had to engage the viewer with more intimacy and totality than traditional conceptions of painting, and indeed sculpture, allowed. Extending her powerful sensitivity to the impact of art on spectators/participants, Clark developed an innovative denial of the passive engagement between the perceiving subject and the perceived object, and so made things that were meant to be touched, twisted, worn and weathered. The Bicho (1960) sculptures are among the most famous types of these works, representing as they do Clark’s early experiments with abstraction literally coming off the wall and landing in the hands of anyone who encountered her art. As Clark wrote in 1960, these works were called ‘animals’, ‘due to their fundamentally organic character…also, the hinge connecting the planes made me think of a dorsal spine. The arrangement of the metal plates determines the Bicho’s position, which at first glance seems limitless. When I am asked how many movements the Bicho can execute, I reply, “I have no idea, nor do you – but the Bicho knows….” Each Bicho is an organic entity that only reveals itself totally within its internal expressive time…It’s a living organism, an essentially active work. A total, existential integration is established between it and you. A passive attitude is impossible between you and the Bicho, either on its part or on yours.’ ... "