Katja Novitskova
Approximation (Apocalypse Mantis), 2022
This sculpture inaugurates a new body of work from the artist. Since the pandemic began and coinciding pregnancy the artist started to work with so called AI algorithms to address the increasing role of computational processes in the analysis and creation of visual and biological data (and practically to be able to work from home). Having been always occupied with the dichotomies of nature vs technology, authorship vs appropriation, art vs nonart, Novitskova used the catalogue of her works from the last decade as a unique dataset. For Approximation (Apocalypse Mantis), and other sculptures to come in the series, she used several documentation photographs of her existing Approximation series of cutout sculptures as input data. The goal was to generate a collection of new possible works based on the collection of the previous ones, a sort of visual and conceptual genetics. The AI would reinterpret Novitskova's works in its own logic and suggest new forms. Her previous works mostly featuring images of animals and scientific data about them would add another layer of complexity to the genetic metaphor. The artist then proceeded to select a few visually interesting iterations and decided to translate them into physical fully dimensional sculptures. Approximation (Apocalypse Mantis) is the first sculpture that was born out of this process. The sculpture is a multi-material assemblage that is based on a generated image depicting an insect-like shape. It was important for Novitskova to approach the physical materiality of the work in the same fluid way she approaches the digital. On one hand the sculpture is made out of materials that have been a staple of Novitskova's practice, like digital print on aluminum dibond and polyurethane resin, and on the other it is introducing new techniques and scale to her work: an intricately made steelwork structure, layers of paint, raw brass and other. Standing tall on a raw aluminum pedestal Approximation (Apocalypse Mantis) makes an uncanny sculpture that is both a slightly disturbing representation of an unknown creature and an object unlike anything created before.