Clad in the garb of astronauts – helmets, goggles, padded suits, and boots – the three reclining cast-aluminum figures present themselves as a somewhat outlandish trio. At first glance the work is a continuation of the artist’s engagement with the concept of outer space as a venue for alternate histories and ever-expanding narratives beyond those bound by established terrestrial notions. On closer inspection we can see various trappings on their uniforms. These trinkets and regalia are in fact fashioned from items collected in Warsaw from a flea market frequented by refugees from Ukraine. Viewed through this lens, the space travelers suddenly take on the appearance of soldiers, alluding to the now-omnipresent imagery of war. What seemed unthinkable not too long ago is now a reality that we have to contend with.
Additionally, the trio’s poses are a reference to a centuries-old source: Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Land of Cockaigne from 1567. In that work, a clerk, a peasant, and a soldier are pictured in various states of satiation, splayed out at a tree’s base.
The Polish sculptor and performance artist Paweł Althamer has established a unique artistic practice featuring an expanded approach to sculptural representation and consistently experimental models of collaboration. Besides his participatory art projects, figurative sculptures, and performative self-portraits, Althamer has gained widespread recognition for his series of sculptural self-portraits, which he created by molding casts of his own body.