Aksioma: Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana
Frederik De Wilde: Hostage
Aksioma brochure #13
Elise Aspord: “Beyond the Liminal: Ultra Black. Art in Dark Times”
The artworks consist of an ultra dark, nano-engineered material that absorbs all visible light and some invisible light as well, such as infrared.
The artworks make reference to the works of painters such as Yves Klein, Malevich, Reinhardt, et al. In contradiction to traditional paintings, these artworks are made from atomic size particles using chemical vapor deposition, thereby creating a Vertigo-esque black “forest” of loosely and vertically aligned carbon nanotubes.
This bottom-up technique is quite novel and reflects upon the transition from pigments to structural color, and the spectral behavior and geometry of the nano object. Thinking outside of the box (read: art and the art world), one could equally think of these artworks as icons (attempts) for the “dark” times we are currently facing (economics, social, ecological, etc.) while on the other hand presenting a radical new constructive and (still) Utopic model with which to face the challenges of our times, e.g. building our world anew atom by atom.
In general, one can also notice a correlation between the limits of our perception and of space (interstellar space, our mind, etc.) and what we are currently able to perceive (mediated through technology or not) and what we cannot perceive. This is the liminal point: the point where we can only imagine what lies beyond the black canvas or space; the unknown (intended psychologically as well). This is the true point where art & science collide, and it is the passion for discovery that binds both seemingly different – worlds.
Works on display:
Hostage
Hostage pt. 1.0 SCAN
Hostage pt. 2.0 Levitation
Hostage pt. 3.0 Speaking In2 The VOID
Frederik De Wilde (BE), born 1975, studied fine arts (MA), audio-visual arts (MA) and followed a pre-education in architecture, studied one year of philosophy and concluded his studies with a post-graduate degree in new media, arts & design at TRANSMEDIA (Post Graduate), where he was initiated in software programming. Frederik works on the interstice between art, science and technology, with strong interests in ecology, physics and social innovation. His work has been exhibited at festivals worldwide and has received several awards.
Production: Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, 2011
Artistic director: Janez Janša
Executive producer: Marcela Okretic
Public relations: Mojca Zupanic
Technical support: Valter Udovicic
Assistant: Sonja Grdina
Project powered by Rice University, Texas, Houston, USA. With the support of the Flemish Ministry of Culture, Belgium. Exhibition supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Ljubljana. This event is organized in the framework of ARSCOPE (Art-Science Co-OPeration Environment) project co-financed by the EU Culture programme and implemented in partnership of TAKOMAT (DE), CIANT (CZ) and AKSIOMA (SI).