Ecstasy, wooden plates, Beigao ... x ..., ready made
Fake stones, Side Park, Beijing ... x ..., ready made
798 storefront, Beijing ... x ..., ready made
In Beijing, I have been searching for objects that attract my attention; often using my imagination to interpret more than is visible in such an object.
The objects that I find, I then remove, replace, apply on a different surface, or leave remaining in the same environment but with slight alterations.
I have always been fascinated by finding places, objects, surfaces, sounds and patterns that are untouched by myself, "ready made”, with traces on
the surface. These traces are sometimes manmade and sometimes naturally created by wind, water, cold or heat. Some have been made on purpose
and others accidentally. These attract my attention, fitting into the momentary patterns of interest within my imagination.
Man made shapes, are produced on a continuous bases with divers intentions. Even artistic engagement is, fundamentally, the production of new
objects. For myself, the technique of ready made – the ‘objet throve’ – is the contrary to design. I am enhancing the found object by misusing the
original meaning and altering it to my subjective with either a conceptual idea or by adding an additional trace that is not often visible. In my earlier
art works I made minimalist objects barely visible on their surface and then often displaced these found objects.
In displacement, the object becomes more significant in meaning. By removing it from the shadows of its everyday placement it is given greater
attention. The object’s meaning becomes then dependent on the individual viewer and his or her interpretations of and engagements with the object.
In a shared moment, one object appears totally insignificant to one viewer while holding meaning for another.
How big or complex a work becomes depends on the time that I spend with it. Some works grow up to a project level and continuing to impress me.
Others are momentary and terminate, no longer able to expand and wait to be taken up again at a later date.
Many of these connectivity’s, between, surface, object, space, people, grow or stay as they are, leaving the necessary space for the viewer to project
his or her own view onto them and draw new narration from them.
born in Prague, raised in Vienna
Co-fouder of minus Delta t
Co-founder Van Gogh TV and Ponton Media Lab
Professor at Universities in Vienna and London
