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253 x 175 x 136, 2 x (Ø 10 x 12), 3 x (Ø 7.5 x 11)
Original title: 250 x 175 x 136, 2 x (Ø 10 x 12), 3 x (Ø 7,5 x 11)
1997
Steel, wood, linoleum and tin cans
Dimensions: 136 x 250 x 175 cm
2 tin cans: 12 x 10 cm each
3 tin cans: 11 x 7.5 cm each
Reference: ACF0690
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From the nineties, Balka conceived his sculpture from the measurements of his own body, and with those measurements he entitled his works, as a way of reducing the description to the most basic elements. The title of this work consists of the measurements of the three pieces that make it up: a wooden plank, a steel structure and some small tins lined with linoleum. The dimensions 190 and 250, which are repeated in all his works (here the length of the wooden plank is 190 cm and the steel structure is 250 cm wide) correspond to his height and the maximum width of his body with his arms open. With that procedure he focuses his work within the limits he knows best: those of his own body. For the same reason, he prefers to work with used materials, because contain carry a history he relates to. These are materials and objects that belong to his personal landscape, to the everyday things he grew up with and which he now lives with in his studio.
In this work, a series of important details, such as the semicircular holes the size of a wrist carved in the steel and the plank like a lever produce the feeling that we are looking at a disturbing instrument. "The idea of this piece comes from the planks on board ships, the planks for dropping dead bodies over board. It also suggests the problem of being expelled from society," the artist has explained. The five empty tins standing on the floor like candles complete the installation, which Balka created from his project in tribute to the victims of the ferry Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea. A tragic event which, in his work, became a reflection on the sadness caused by the disappearance of the human body.
