UNTITLED (space and waste), series of photographs, large-scale installation, styrofoam
Waste from human activity, more justly put labour human activity, stored in a basement for future usage, probably. The styrofoam is naturally beautiful in the natural darkness – a pragmatic combination, artificial as genesis and economical as quality (people store waste in basement for probable benefit). But anyway, the racionality of the situation can not destroy the darkness as internally natural quality of the basement, neither the geometrical perfection as internally natural quality of the styrophoam waste (or the ethical beauty of sadness from the chaotic piling of unneeded elements as internally natural quality of the styrophoam waste). On the contrary, this internal naturality conquers casuality, and everything one could see is just a good material for contemplation – nothing less and nothing more – good enough to fill many man-hours. This is the beginning of the work. From here on it develops in two general directions – function and space.
The styrofoam elements, for whom until now we’ve been aware to be a functional waste, cease to be such. Put out of the economical logics (people store waste in basement for probable benefit), the styrofoam elements unfold a completely abstract, perfect, unfunctional, unhuman geometry of the circle. Human function has been substituted for unhuman perfection.
The dimensional oppsition is also shocking as contrast – the densed clustering in a small, dark space, familiar as an element of everyday existence, has been substituted for a monumental spatiality. The enormousness of the installation, physically monumental by itself, creates through its form an additional, abstract monumentality – mentally continued, the open catenaries describe a progression of circles much larger than the physical form of the ordered styrofoam elements. The dense triviality has been substituted for a cogitative monumental abstraction.
UNTITLED (light and waste)
series of mirror coated boxes, styrofoam elements
Styrofoam elements, waste of human activity, have been aestheticised to abstraction. The work can once again be viewed as function and space. The functional qualities of the styrofoam elements have been removed through an aesthetical concentration on form. The lack of story-telling is synchronised with the abstractiveness of the constructed space. Apart of being visually abstract, it is also physically abstract, unreal, illusionary. The infinity of the kaleidoscope progression creates an unhuman perfection that opposes the finite, comprehensible dimensional clarity and prosiness of the styrofoam element.
The two presented works of Stela Vassileva continue her interest for aesthetisation of human living and labour – an artistic direction consecutively developed in several of her latest projects.
text: Leda Ekimova
