FOFA GALLERY

RIVER – The Whirlpools of Time, Lenka Novakova

Contemplation of the Duet of River and Sky

Clouds swim the sky slowly in shifting schools—
Once in a while, a rainbow backbends, colors rippling.
Notice the flocks of golden leaves gliding by,
The river a solo song until it mirrors the sky.
Every morning, the sun—the way it projects itself,
Making everything—even a stone—into a prism.
Perhaps the water’s currents, as they catch the light,
Like waves of air stirring the winds, are not unlike thoughts
As they move through the sky—or is it the river—of the mind,
The slow turn of each word flowing into the next
In a limitless expansion unbounded by anything
Other than an eye that believes it can shut out the world.
No, the sky lives in our lungs; the rivers in our veins.

Julie Dunlop

Lenka Novakova

My artistic practice is concerned with issues of contemplation, ephemeral quality of poetic moment and that which exists outside the conceivable time-frame and language. I am interested in recreation rather than representation of reﬂective thought and its impetus through constructed environment, simple technologies and moving light; with crossovers into ﬁelds of cinema and theatre technologies. In my current research I investigate and further explore qualities of space, architectural environments and installation by means of moving light. Light transforms and deconstructs space by marking, occupying, illuminating and dramatically staging it. I am interested in both light as a medium of perception as well as medium of representation. I am also interested in concepts of visual and architectural transformation of space as one of the essential preconditions for totally occupying it.

River

River is an investigation into dimensions of contemplation within the dimensions of the gallery space. It attempts to capture river as a metaphor to the flow of thought and the flow of time that continues, whirlpools and passes. Or does it stand still within the unlimited dimension of the contemplative mind; a question may be asked. First and foremost it is longing to understand the essence of the natural element within the open space and recreate its dimension within the walls of the actual gallery space and within viewers’ mind. It is also longing to connect and communicate by means of visual language and its minimal nature rather than complexities of the language itself.

Ideas of River are explored through two bodies of work within framework of two exhibition spaces. “River – The whirlpools of time” in the main space of the gallery and “River the Mirror to the sky” in the Black Box. The exhibition opens with a poem by Julie Danlop; “Contemplation of the Duet of the River and The Sky” as an introduction to the exhibition and a poetic soul-mate to the Black Box installation.

“Whirpools of Time” in the Main Space is a multi-channel video installation consisting of tall conical structures installed throughout the entire gallery space. Optical qualities of the structures meets with the projected image to create an illusion of light spiraling through the space. By entering the projection field, participants absorb projected light and cast shadows within the illuminated structures. While the visual and/or physical experience may appear linear to most, the perceptive experience will vary based on each individual interrelation and may generate associations expending beyond the concepts of the work, positioning the participant into contemplative space of their own.

“Mirror to the Sky” in the Black Box is a two-channel video installation merging sculptural structures and projection technologies to create sensory experience within the given space. It consists of two large prisms acting as optical instruments to articulate the relationship of a river to the sky within a dialog of the two elements. It attempts to re-create a contemplative nature of the phenomenon by means of moving/projected light. The installation setting challenges viewer’s perception of space by means of diffraction, refraction and reflection and creates an optical illusion as a vehicle to articulation of a reflective thought and contemplation.

Julie Danlop (bio)
Originally from Virginia, poet Julie Dunlop lives in New Mexico, where she teaches writing. Her poetry appears in a variety of journals, such as Atlanta Review, Appalachian Heritage, Baltimore Review, and South Dakota Review. She is a recipient of Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prizes, as well as fellowships from Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Vermont Studio Center, where she met Lenka Novak and composed “Contemplation of the Duet between River and Sky.”

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $37.8 million in the arts in Quebec.