THE NEST

Mass media and popular culture are the decisive first influences on the younger generation of artists. Many of them employ video and computers rather than traditional formats, while others transform space and time in a way which places them within the trajectory of art theory and other areas related to the visual arts. Bogataj's personal style stems from a view of the world adapted lo technology – this time a moving, rather than static, image of the world. The artist focuses on the search for various forms and draws energy from the real world, where he seeks abstract understandings of nature.

"A sculpture is anything an artist or sculptor deems it to be. And sculpture material is anything that can be used to make a sculpture (any substance or material: metal, stone, clay, wood, paper, cardboard, plastic, text, photography, video, processed or unprocessed material, waster and ready-mades... or a combination of materials, techniques and technologies)."

The Nest is a structure built from umbrella frames which are connecting into a canopy-like form. Living creatures build nests in order to have a safe dwelling, usually built from organic materials. Here, the sculptor has exchanged the organic material for metal, building it into a grid structure. The construction process consists of several inter-connected steps. Because the nest is solidly built and protected from the elements, it is like a miniature ecosystem. So it becomes 'connected' with space in every sense of the word.

The Nest by Rok Bogataj is an analytically conceived installation which incorporates construction elements. The sculpture is embedded in space, with which it establishes a dialogue, communication and exchange. The relationship is built attentively, as the installation adapts to the specifics of the space, not as a passive surrounding, but as an integral part of the design process. The sculpture is not physically and symbolically separated from the outside world and the gallery space.

Jadranka Plut