THIRD DIMENSION OF SHADOW

Parish garden of the baroque church of All Saints, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, 2024

Installation / Site-specific, mirror, wooden inner construction

Photo: Jakub Sobotka, Zdeňka Hanáková

A monumental installation called SEGMENT is situated in the rectory garden. Here, the geometric mirror object optimally works with the surrounding space. The object, composed of glass surfaces, unfolds like an irregular abstract “origami” between Baroque architecture and a natural framework. Its tip points to the spiritual center of the place, the tower of the Church of All Saints. The object is constantly changing according to the view angle. In front of the passing viewer, an infinite number of combinations of reflective surfaces arise and then of their decomposition.

Other variations of the compositions draw shadows, which are also cast in motion according to daylight and current cloud cover. The installation puts the individual segments of reality into different contexts thus evoking a feeling of infinity and ambiguity of reality. At a certain angle, the object looks massive and contrasts with the exterior, at other times it is absorbed by the reflection and thus completely “disappears” from the human gaze.

The work refers to the reflection on the human perception of the image in space and time from the point of view of contemporary science (Brian Cox – the curvature of time), philosophy (M. Heidegger, E. Husserl, R. Arnheim). It also refers to the transcendental and spiritual essence of the world (Christian mysticism and Jewish traditions of midrash multidimensionality, multidimensionality of reality and openness to various possibilities). The installation is a continuation of the artist’s long-term work with the interpretation of space (Sovinec 2003, Grab’s Villa 2007, Karel Pippich Theatre in Chrudim (2007), Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Infant Jesus in Prague (2019), Festival for the Jewish Town of Boskovice (2022).