Nestled within Prospect Park's Audubon Center, something new is taking form.

Nature In Nature, a new sculpture exhibit by Robert Lobe, is on view from May 14 to November 2011 at the Audubon Center at Prospect Park. Presented by the Prospect Park Alliance and the Parks Department, Nature In Nature features three pieces – "Invisible Earth," "Antique Jenny" and "Nature’s Clock," all located around the Boathouse and Lullwater, just inside the park entrance at Lincoln Road. The projected was self-funded through Kickstarter donations and Arts Buyer.

Lobe's themes focus largely on vanitas, a common theme in Northern European still lifes of the 16th and 17th centuries, based on the idea of earthly life as meaningless, and vanity, or human egotism and self-worth, is passing and insubstantial. 

"My work on a rudimentary level is about decay and rebirth," said Lobe. "At some point everyone dies and things pass on."

The word vanitas itself is a derivative of the latin and means 'emptiness' – appropriate, as the sculptures are all hollow.

Lobe uses repoussé, a method of molding pieces of metal around an object; it's the same method used to create the Statue of Liberty. In Lobe's case, the metal is sheets of aluminum, which are "pushed and pulled" around outcroppings in the woods.

A large part of Lobe's focus is the passage of time and regeneration of nature, forces of nature and how they're manifested visually, and random distribution – he likens the last one to binary code.

"It's like taking one thing out of a rolling text," he said. "Like seeing an image in binary code that speaks."

"The thinking about the inside and outside are prevalent in my makeup as a sculptor," said Lobe. "My sense of necessity is to present all of the manifestations and identifying the characteristics of an object on the surface so there's no mystery of what's inside; what you see is what you get."

The park as the location for his new project is significant in many ways – primarily, Lobe says, because "nature is the perfect canvas for this; it's essentially abstract and it carries with it everything and nothing at the same time."

In addition, he says he'd like to see an ongoing arts situation in the park, which has been collaborating with artists and arts organizations since the 1960's but, unlike most other New York City parks, lacks a permanent arts program.

"It's wonderful that three new works by artist Robert Lobe will call Prospect Park home for the next six months," said Prospect Park Alliance President and Park Administrator Emily Lloyd. "The area in and around the Lullwater, by the Park's iconic Boathouse, is the perfect setting for his sculptures which are directly inspired by nature and also demonstrate beautiful craftsmanship."

"Rocks and trees have a story to tell," said Lobe. "They can say all sorts of things. They can conjure up mythological, archetypal situations in our brains that underscore our impulses and reactions."

For more information about the exhibit and the artist, visit the Prospect Park Calendar of events or RobertLobe.com.

Editor's Note: This article was edited to reflect that this art project was self-funded.