Modern Art Oxford presents two new works by Slovakian artist Roman Ondák, in his first major solo exhibition in the UK. On view 12 March — 20 May 2011.

Roman Ondák, ‘Time Capsule’, 2011. Preliminary documentary photograph for installation

Roman Ondák’s work has a conceptual and performative focus and at its core, an interest in transferring real life experiences into the context of art. For the exhibition Time Capsule, Ondák expands on this trajectory with the creation of two new works that reference recent world events. The first work, an installation entitled Time Capsule, makes direct reference to the incident at the San José mine in Chile in 2010, in which 33 miners were trapped 700 metres below ground for 69 days. The miners were in the end raised from the mine through a drilled escape shaft and by the use of the rescue capsule called Fenix 2. Ondák has created an exact replica of the capsule, which will be installed in the darkened gallery and connected by a rope to an escape shaft attached to the gallery’s ceiling. Where Time Capsule evokes the isolation experienced in the mine, the performance Stampede—its counterpoint executed in the second gallery—touches on the other extreme, when people experience overcrowded situations. For this work, Ondák stages a performance involving a large crowd of people walking into and out of the darkened gallery prior to the exhibition. The traces of the performance will be then left evident.

Supported by The Henry Moore Foundation and Outset Associates.

Modern Art Oxford
30 Pembroke Street
Oxford
OX1 1BP
T 01865 722733
info@modernartoxford.org.uk.
www.modernartoxford.org.uk

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