The man in the cage was the second kinetic sculpture Lyle created in the Hackney garage. Again all the materials came from within the squat… the cage was made with the frames from the workers changing rooms and the motor taken from something else found in the garage. The first test proved the mechanism to be too violent. The motor was connected with a chain rather than a belt and was too fast, the skeleton tore his arms and legs out of their sockets and reduced him into a pile of shaking bones. As it was created as a self-portrait the result was perfect, save for the fact it was witnessed only by a couple of people. The chain replaced with a belt and a slower reduction softened the effect but at least he would last a few hours before breaking. The man in the cage is also still going after 30 years but has had several motor replacements. Lyle says he feels better now, no longer needs to be in a cage.
