‘Dark Matter’ is Troika’s largest single sculptural form to date. It premiered at Art Basel Unlimited 2014, and was subsequently exhibited at ZKM Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe in 2015 alongside artists Yuri Ancarani, Camille Henrot and Conrad Shawcross.
‘Dark Matter’ is a sculpture in which three different viewpoints coexist. The volume displays a shifting reality for the viewer, showing three distinct geometrical shapes at different vantage points - a square, a hexagon and a circle. ‘Dark Matter’ is defined by an abstract spatial system which paradoxically orders the sculpture into its three, independent shapes, yet, converges them into a single, physical object. Thus, the sculpture is ungraspable in its entirety; unable to witness all ‘states’ simultaneously, one is challenged to accept the seemingly impossible.
Selected for its ostensible ability to swallow light, ‘Dark Matter’ is covered in black flock. This material obscures the surface of the sculpture, so its various facets are optically flattened into one vast volume. Transforming a three-dimensional object into two-dimensional planes, the use of black flock refuses a reading of the sculpture as disparate elements and ensures the viewer solely engages with its three internal shapes. The work is part of Troika's perspective sculptures series which began with ‘Squaring the Circle’ (2013), followed by ‘Polar Spectrum’ (2015) and ‘Everything is and isn't at the same time’ (2015).
Read more:
J.J. Charlesworth, ArtReview / Art Basel 2014 roundup
Francesca Gavin, Artsy / 8 Artist to discover at Art Basel 2014
Lisa Contag, Boluin Artinfo / Q & A/ Troika on ‘Dark Matter’ at Art Basel