Metalmorphosis is a large public sculpture by Czech artist David Cerny, installed in 2007 at the Whitehall Technology Park in north Charlotte. The work is a giant layered steel head — seven metres tall and weighing 14 tonnes — divided into horizontal slices that rotate independently, continuously rearranging the face into different configurations before briefly resolving into a recognizable human form. Water flows from the head's open mouth, spilling into the pool below.
Cerny created it as a psychological self-portrait, though the rotating layers suggest something more universal about identity and transformation. It is the artist's only major permanent outdoor installation in the Americas. The sculpture is located in a corporate park about 25 kilometres from Uptown — not in the tourist circuit, but worth a detour for anyone interested in contemporary public art. Check the location carefully before going; it is in an office park off Harris Boulevard.