Katja Novitskova
Earthware (Looking Glass Mola Mola), 2024
epoxy clay, UV ink transfer, UV polyurethane, glow-in-the-dark pigment, lenticular print, aluminium frame, nail polish
122 x 150 x 10 cm
48 x 59 x 4 in
unique
48 x 59 x 4 in
unique
Katja Novitskova’s Earthware (Looking Glass Mola Mola), 2024 represents a fusion of her established techniques, including sculptural forming, 3D-printing with resin, print transfer from her Earthware series, and various image...
Katja Novitskova’s Earthware (Looking Glass Mola Mola), 2024 represents a fusion of her established techniques, including sculptural forming, 3D-printing with resin, print transfer from her Earthware series, and various image translation methods utilizing AI and lenticular print technology.
The work, inspired by the Mola Mola, a unique type of sunfish, originated from the Looking Glass algorithm’s free hallucination of documentation photos of her earlier sculptures, Approximation (III Beluga) and Approximation (The Apocalypse’s Many Horsemen). These AI-generated images were part of the same series used for her Soft Approximations exhibition. The resemblance to a sunfish in the artwork is incidental yet fitting, given the inputs involved. Earthware (Looking Glass Mola Mola) bears the sunfish’s most notable feature, its eyes positioned on each side.
In this new work, Novitskova emphasizes the eyes as a crucial visual-sculptural form, marking her first exploration into this theme. A lenticular print, placed behind a polyurethane lens, creates a dynamic visual effect, making the eyes appear animated. This combination aims to produce an effect of a creature-sculpture that gazes back at the viewer with a nonhuman, almost sentient presence, blending elements of both the animal and the algorithmic through multiple layers of translation.
The work, inspired by the Mola Mola, a unique type of sunfish, originated from the Looking Glass algorithm’s free hallucination of documentation photos of her earlier sculptures, Approximation (III Beluga) and Approximation (The Apocalypse’s Many Horsemen). These AI-generated images were part of the same series used for her Soft Approximations exhibition. The resemblance to a sunfish in the artwork is incidental yet fitting, given the inputs involved. Earthware (Looking Glass Mola Mola) bears the sunfish’s most notable feature, its eyes positioned on each side.
In this new work, Novitskova emphasizes the eyes as a crucial visual-sculptural form, marking her first exploration into this theme. A lenticular print, placed behind a polyurethane lens, creates a dynamic visual effect, making the eyes appear animated. This combination aims to produce an effect of a creature-sculpture that gazes back at the viewer with a nonhuman, almost sentient presence, blending elements of both the animal and the algorithmic through multiple layers of translation.