Basel Social Club

The material that Alek O. retrieved from the Grand Hotel Adriatico (on the Italian riviera near Pescara) had been deposited over the decades and forgotten there during multiple renovations. The series comes from the dismantling of discolored tarps taken from the top floor of the hotel. They were unstitched, cut and reassembled by the artist to obtain a coherent group, assembling each piece according to the streaks and lines produced by the sun. The result is dynamic, each canvas attracts the eye, bouncing from side to side, trying to capture images hidden in the shadows of the blue.

The installation is completed by a group of sculptures Ehi Siri, Lumos (2023): compositions of modified ceiling lights that, from static wall and ceiling illuminations, now land like mini flying saucers ready for their next take-off – with the word ‘Lumos’ Harry Potter would turn on the light of his magic wand, just as we might turn on the torch on our iPhone. The warm or cold light bulb that is inserted inside allows a chromatic contrast between the different lamps that compose the sculpture. [Excerpt from the gallery press release]