Wilsis appears to be deep in thought or dreaming. Her eyes are closed and she is inward-looking and self-contained, remote from the present moment and the beauty of the surrounding scenery. Although monumental in size at over 7 metres high, this sculpture depicts a normal girl, rather than immortalising a traditionally extraordinary or powerful person. Plensa chooses to celebrate the potential in all of us, and the beauty in the everyday. Wilsis belongs to a series of cast iron portrait heads that depict real girls: from many different places around the world, they suggest possibilities for unity across divides. In their youth they represent hopefulness for the future.

When seen from the front, Wilsis appears to be a realistic rendition of the head, yet from the side it is an extremely flattened relief. Viewing this sculpture at YSP represents a journey of discovery and the work is only revealed fully when you walk around the landscape to discover it more closely.