Sašo Sedlaček

Sky in Ruins (di sotto in sù)

Video installation, 2016

Sky in Ruins is an illusionistic ceiling video projection that alludes to the tradition of Renaissance ceiling painting and its illusionistic depictions of limitless space with an architectural vanishing point on the ceiling. The vanishing point was vertically directly above, the gaze was directed di sotto in sù, “from below, upward,” to the illusory open skies.

The vanishing point in the Sky in Ruins project is in the blackness of the orbits along which satellites circle the Earth. The projection is a window into the nearby cosmos, where there is far more space trash than satellites. It is a ceiling illusion that provides a dystopian view of space in our vicinity. A series of close-ups of collisions between satellites and space trash is projected onto the space dumping ground opening up above us.

The 3-D animation is a homemade visual illusion. It is made with Blender open source software, with realistically fashioned models of satellites, and is accompanied by recordings of actual space sounds. The main purpose of the work, however, is not so much to portray a real situation in nearby space as it is to point out that the universe, despite its vastness, is not so unlimited that we could go on simply moving our bad habits from Earth out into space.

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Sašo Sedlaček (1974) is a Ljubljana-based artist whose primary interest seems to be things that people overlook and the ways in which they can be made useful once again. His work is generally defined by theories of disposal and the use and reuse of cheap technologies and waste materials. His practical and humorous works result from a subversive recycling of scientific, legal, or technological facts and employing DIY (do-it-yourself) and collaborative methods. Sedlaček has participated in numerous solo and group shows, including at the Secession in Vienna, the Sixth Taipei Biennial, the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, the October Saloon in Belgrade, Ars Electronica in Linz, Transmediale 2014 in Berlin and the Museumsquartir (MUMOK, Freiraum) in Vienna. Among the several awards he has received for his work are the OHO Group Award (Slovenian winner of YVAA award in 2006), the SPAPORT award from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Banja Luka (2008), a Special Mention from the VIDA 11.0 awards in Madrid (2009), Trend Award- Slovenian award for visual creativity (2013) and 26. Alexandria Biennale award (2014). He has been an artist-in-residence at the ISCP in New York, IAMAS in Japan, artist residency in London and Berlin given by Slovenian Ministry of Culture, The Israeli Center For Digital Art in Holon.

Homepage: sasosedlacek.com