Fishing for new geometry

“Fishing for the new geometry”

2002
St. Petersburg, PLOT Environmental art symposium
200x200x200 cm
Wood construction (free floating raft), collected and unfolded Russian balls

With 58 other international and Russian artists I took part in this symposium/ art in public space exhibition in the suburban district of St. Petersburg. We were asked to display a work on a 2x2m drifting raft on a lake.
At this stage I was busy with my collection Mappa Mundi and constantly searching for new ball designs. It was using my time in Russia to gather new impressions and of cause balls.
Now one immediately recognizes a product manufactured from a foreign industrial nation.
Colors, design, surface luster and grip are very unique. Still 15 years ago a German screwdriver differentiates from an English or Japanese one, even for an ordinary observer. This of cause has been vanished since countries brain drain their know-how into foreign countries for short time market advantages and individuality gets lost within the process.
The Russian industry with their planned market economy, that tried to fulfill consumer wishes years ahead of time were generating a huge amount of products that were and still are unique and desirable collectors items. Planned economies are in contrast to unplanned economies, such as a market economy, where production, distribution, pricing, and investment decisions are made by the private owners of the factors of production based upon their own and their customers' interests rather than upon furthering some overarching macroeconomic plan.
In short- if you in spring bought a pair of shoes that you cherish for their comfort and design, you want be able to find them available in the summer sales. It’s the same with ball design cause the pressing markets push the new and eliminate the old. But Russia, well within the first day I found designs of ball shapes that I have never seen before and never seen since. Therefore I called this work “ Fishing for new geometry”.
I unfolded the shapes and displayed them in form of a “fish Market” selling display on my 2x2qm raft. The work anyhow only lasted for a day, during the opening people were swimming out there and pick items to wear as heads, the next morning even the raft was gone. Nice people though, didn’t mind it.