The work consists of a belt equipped with a pressure sensor attached to the apparatus, and nine light bulbs. The visitor puts the belt around their stomach, presses the red button and starts breathing deeply, from the lower part of the lungs and the abdomen. After five seconds, the reflectors sync in with the participant’s breathing – breathing in, the light intensifies, breathing out, it dims. The intensity of the light aligns with the intensity of the breathing.
A modified clock is located thirty centimetres in front of the reflector. It works only when the source of light behind it provides enough intensity. It is white, with no digits and only a red second hand. The clock works only when the person is breathing.
On the level of biologically and psychologically conditioned perception of time, the work stimulates deep and proper breathing, while the visual sensation created by the changing light induces a relaxed and meditative state.
The project is a reaction to the fast-paced way of life, in which we constantly think and multitask, our thoughts always wandering to either the past or the future. In the process of interaction with the work, the focus is directed to a single activity – breathing, which leads to a state of the mind in the here and now. This also influences the perception of time. Time has meaning while we are breathing (while we are alive), and yet, our speedy lives offer us little time to breathe.
Production collaborator: Nikola Kukić
Production: KONTEJNER
Vitar Drinković (HR)
Vitar Drinković works at the intersection of technology, science and art, through the creation of interactive devices, inventions and installations that serve as intermediaries in communication between people. His intention is to explore and create a new context and conditions for the sensory and mental perception of daily life. He combines his extensive experience in sculpture and sculptural technologies with new media, DIY culture, new technologies and collaborations with experts in the fields of science, which opens up a wide spectrum of activity.
He graduated in Sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2008. During his studies, he attended a semester at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA. In 2014, he completed his Master’s degree in Animation and New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, where he also participated in a student exchange with the London Metropolitan University, UK. He has exhibited in 24 solo exhibitions, created 7 public space sculptures (Zagreb, Dugo Selo, Bjelovar and Hvar in Croatia, and Trausdorf in Austria), and has participated in 14 artistic residencies. He exhibited at 55 group exhibitions in Croatia, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Austria, the Czech Republic, United Kingdom, USA, Canada and France. He is the recipient of several awards, honors and scholarships, and a 2021 Radoslav Putar Award finalist. He is a member of the Croatian Association of Visual Artists and the Croatian Freelance Artists’ Association.
vitardrinkovic.com
vitardrinkovic@gmail.com
