Atanas DJONOV

Capsule

recycled plastics, dead bonsai tree, acrylic paint, electronics, emergency beacon, solar panels, batteries

Capsule (detail)

A sealed ‘capsule’ resembling the spherical descent module of the Soviet spacecraft Vostok – which made the first human spaceflight in 1961 – is painted to create a topographical globe. At its centre is a bonsai tree that was killed by a heatwave in 2004, and underneath the tree is an activated emergency beacon. The capsule has apparently plunged to Earth, ploughing a trail in the desert’s red dirt on impact.

This work explores the juxtaposition of determination and hopelessness which characterises much of the current discourse about climate change.

Atanas was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 1972, moved to Sydney in 1996, and lives and works on the land of the Darug people of the Eora Nation. He completed a video production course at the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at Sofia University, Bulgaria, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) and a PhD in Fine Arts from Art & Design (formerly the College of Fine Arts), UNSW, Sydney. Atanas’s practice incorporates sculpture, installation, video, sound, animation and photography. His work has been shown in a variety of contexts nationally and internationally.

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