EFA STUDIO PROGRAM: ALUMNI

Kristian Kozul

I work in the medium of sculpture, and appropriate found imagery, premade objects and assemblage strategies, to achieve inner conflict and dramatic effect of the work. My objects and sculptural installations reference popular culture, and in some cases lean toward ethical or political problematic (as in Balkan Bells – silent bells whose inside is covered with used ammunition shells, while the outside remains engulfed in soft traditional lace produced in the region). Sometimes the works combine popular culture references with irony and humor of the darker kind (as in Discoware – Wheelchair, where a symbol of undesired or personal tragedy is glorified or at least made triumphantly appealing).  The works also incorporate parts entirely produced in my studio.

The particular objects I start with are taken for their specific symbolism – which could be even defined as an “emotional baggage” – quoted from popular culture and other forms of social iconography.  They are transformed through the application of ornamental “skin”, aesthetics of which are in stark opposition with the emotional/iconographical content of the found object.  The applied “envelope” is almost always rendering the object dysfunctional and useless.  The work serves as a platform for telling a story; its references towards high or vernacular culture are manipulated through the application of ornamental dermis.