resins, fibreglass, metal, paint, 286х186 см
The counter-relief of A Portrait with a Different Plane, which was included in the project, Imaginary Distances resembles the Rorschach spots, where the negative proof contains the positive image. The positive image in Nazar Bilyk’s project is contained in a water mirror placed at the sculpture’s pedestal. The symmetry of indentations and protrusions of another self-portrait is hard to discern: it’s more of a projection of the artist’s inner state, “the manifestation and monumentalization of the subconscious” in his physical parameters. Bilyk stresses that “this figure provides impetus for free associations, and the viewer can see any arbitrary image in it; in a way, it is a test based on assumptions and guesswork.” The artist found inspiration for the project in Cappadocia (mo¬dern Turkey), with its unique volcanic landscape. Having found himself in this gigantic natural landscape, he saw parallels between his own experiments and the universal natural laws of form-creation. The discovery was so intense that he retreated from human presence, so only the walls of the cave abandoned by its ancient residents and the starry sky above had witnessed his thoughts. Imaginary Distances, Nazar Bilyk’s most persuasive and personal artistic statement at present, were the product of this unique experience.
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Valeriy Sakharuk