WHAT IS BEHIND CLOSED EYES?
Behind Closed Eyes is a 16-foot hollow sculpture by Spencer Hansen. It is hand-carved from reclaimed Indonesian teak salvaged from retired fishing vessels and structural timber. Its exterior features repeating, topographic-like ridges that reveal deep texture, visible tool marks, and natural patina. Hand-formed copper elements suggest eyes and a spine.
The crouching figure sits at ground level with knees drawn in and hands covering its eyes. While the gesture suggests hiding, the posture conveys awareness and quiet presence. At night, a soft glow emerges from the eyes and the back of the head and interior, making the sculpture visible from a distance without feeling theatrical.
The interior is smooth and enclosed, with rounded wooden surfaces and a simple perimeter bench, creating a fort-like space of shelter and play. It invites an inward experience, like moving through the imagined belly of a creature, where enclosure, scale, and texture guide feeling more than narrative.
PATTERNS AND PROCESS
The BCE sculpture process began with a hand-carved gypsum model, establishing the initial form through a tactile, intuitive approach. Maquettes were then created and 3D scanned, allowing the form to be translated into CAD and proportioned to scale. From there, iterative 3D modeling was used to refine the structure and generate printable patterns. A scaled 3-foot version was created from beginning to end to test proportion, stability, and the viability of the patterning in physical space. Once resolved, full-scale patterns for the 16-foot sculpture were printed and used as guides for fabrication, with each component cut and carefully laminated from recycled wood of varying shapes and sizes, allowing the final form to emerge through a balance of precision and material-driven adaptation.
These laminated components were then stacked and bonded into sections, each one a quiet accumulation of reclaimed pieces finding new purpose together. The sections are designed to bolt together, making BCE a fully modular sculpture that can be assembled, disassembled, and carried forward. More than 95% of the materials used in its construction are repurposed.
The assembled structure is hand carved with chisel and mallet to introduce the ridges and surface texture that are a defining signature of Spencer's work. The addition of the hand pounded copper elements creates the finished look.
MATERIALS
Materials include reclaimed Indonesian boat wood, primarily teak, and structural timber, with copper elements integrated into the external form. The material choice is not only physical but philosophical: wood that has lived previous lives and holds its own stories, reworked through slow, deliberate processes into something new. It carries its own history into a world too often defined by disposability. Copper elements are integrated, lending definition of shape, warmth and material contrast to the finished piece.
The project prioritizes responsible material reuse, energy efficiency, and long-term durability to reduce environmental impact and support sustainable practices.
PHILOSOPHY
There are many ways to be in this life. Behind Closed Eyes does not guide you toward a particular way of being, but instead offers a space to explore. It can be internal or external, in silence or through play. A place to bring what is inside out, or to draw what is around you in. In a world filled with constant stimulation, it offers tactile quiet and presence.
Birthed from the mind and heart of Spencer Hansen, Behind Closed Eyes is, at its core, a communal project that does not tell you what to see, but instead asks a simple question: what do you feel? This is a space for that.
Bringing Hansen’s vision to life has been a testament to shared labor, trust, and the intentional use of analog, time-honored techniques combined with innovative processes. The work is done primarily by hand with reclaimed wood. What emerges is a new creation rooted in traditional craftsmanship and artistry.
The sculpture is built with Hansen’s longtime team of Indonesian artists, collaborators he has worked with for over eighteen years. Behind Closed Eyes looks both to the past and toward the future, grounding us in the present moment.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CREATION
If you would like to support the creation of this sculpture, you can make a direct contribution. Every contribution helps support materials, fabrication, and installation. Learn more about the project and ways to support here: https://spencerhansen.art/support
Other ways to help:
Support for Behind Closed Eyes extends beyond financial contributions.
As the project enters its stateside phase, we are actively seeking resources
such as workspace, heavy equipment access, transportation assistance,
fabrication support, and volunteer labor opportunities.
If you are interested in contributing skills, resources, connections, or time to help bring the project to life, please reach out to inquire@spencerhansen.art to learn more about non-financial ways to support the project.
All donations will go directly to completing the art work and getting it to Burning Man 2026. Your support not only helps complete this sculpture, but also contributes to the creation of future large-scale public art projects.
Follow progress updates on our Spencer Hansen Art YouTube Channel: Follow along here.
Thank you,
Behind Closed Eyes Team