Meta Grgurevič is a visual artist. Her passion is multidisciplinary installations. In his artistic expression, he combines the seemingly incompatible in an interesting way. The result? The world of mechanical machines that spark our imagination by following the idea concept. They take us into Meta's creative world, which is...
A hovering machine. Have you been planning it for a long time?
The first idea of the levitation machine happened in 2012 in Helsinki, where I was on the three-month HIAP-Artist in residence program. During this period, I was interested in the field of electricity. While researching and reading literature in this field, I was of course completely captivated by the story of Nikola Tesla. So my first idea was to replicate his patent, a wireless electricity generator. But I couldn't find an engineer who dared to tackle this idea. Their advice was: "Go to the forest and try to build it there, because otherwise you will burn and destroy everything in your surroundings!" After a month of searching for the right person, I abandoned the idea with a heavy heart. The unrealized goal led me to further thinking that electricity is actually a very broad field and that I can introduce it into my visual language in different ways. From this developed the idea of placing an object in a floating state, through an electromagnetic field. The curator of HIAP at the time, Maritta Muukkonen, warmed to my way of thinking and helped me find collaborators. That's how I met the mathematician Otto Urpelainen, with whom we developed our first hovering machine.
The process itself is no secret. A lot has already been written and researched on the internet about this topic. Our desire was to go through the entire process, learn how it works and what new possibilities there are. It took us a month from the conceptual design to the actual implementation, but in the end we managed to get 5 grams into a floating state. When we left Helsinki, we both knew that we had to upgrade our creation one day. That's why I invited him again this year to participate in the project Crystal C, authored by Jaša. I was very happy when he accepted the invitation positively and came to Ljubljana for a month and a half at his own expense. Our goal was to levitate a 500g crystal bottle of magical elixir. After two months of hard work, ups and downs, we managed to float a 280g glass jar, which served as a prototype.
Crystal C. What is it and should we experience it?
Crystal C. is an extensive project by the artist Jaša and will be presented at two locations in Ljubljana, the Vžigalica gallery and the Tobačna 001 Cultural Center. In March, the Crystal C. project moves to New York, as part of the three-month Pioneer Works residency program. The core of the project is a floating elixir in a crystal bottle, which Jaša is developing together with an unnamed alchemist. As Jaša says: "The components of the elixir are different substances that cause specific emotional states. It's an alchemical cocktail, a kind of trigger, which I think is any work of art that makes you feel. By using certain substances, the picture of reality changes and you believe in this change. When the change is consistent with the emotional state, which in turn is reflected in thought processes and experience, this is art for me".
What do you need to make a levitation machine and where do you buy the necessary components?
You need a lot of copper wire, a lot of small components: resistors, transistors, capacitors... I call them sweets. The material is not hard to come by. Otto and I got a lot of components from old devices. So television, radio, etc. This is what we call the Do It Yourself (DIY) process, of course we also bought some... Find yourself and go through the process! Only when you go through the entire process do you begin to understand how the device actually works and what is happening behind the scenes. We made our own electromagnets from wire, we had to find out which copper wire is right and why, how many turns of wire we need, which iron is magnetic enough... Martin Podlogar, a student of the University of Electrical Engineering, advised and occasionally helped us with this. For me, it was a kind of journey through the history of science, understanding development and research. Bit by bit and slowly it becomes clear to you how the system that powers the magic works. I like the idea of a magician who knows how magic works and the system behind it.
How does the creative process work in such a project?
I am very empirical myself. I simply try a thing or a topic that interests me. Theory and practice, all this happens in one "shus". Sometimes I find myself in a situation where I have an idea and know absolutely nothing about how to realize it. That's when I look for the right people to help me with it and also teach me something new. This is always the best part of creating.
"Unscrewing, tinkering, connecting components" ... are not exactly women's domains ...
Nowadays, in the modern world, this is no longer just a male domain. In Helsinki, I had the feeling that it was quite normal for a woman to use a tool. Perhaps this stereotype is still present here. But lately I've noticed that even here it doesn't hurt as much as it used to.
"Only when you go through the whole process do you start to understand how the device actually works and what's going on behind the scenes".
Light, mechanics, music, technology. Isn't art just painting on canvas?
No, that's not been the case for a long time! I've been working with contemporary art for so long that I don't question it anymore. The only important thing for me is why and how? I am simply growing with my work, becoming good and wanting to become even better. I notice that through art I can give something to people and at the same time to myself. We cannot stay thinking about the existence of art only in the form of painting or sculpture. Things around us are constantly changing and progressing. This is how they should be understood and accepted. This applies not only to art, but to any other field. It's simply part of human evolution.
Meta's ideal creative world...
Already exists. The only thing I wish is that it would be a little easier to make a living with art. But I think that the situation here is slowly changing for the better.
An interesting anecdote from your creative world is...
For the "Escapement" project, which, among other things, was created in collaboration with the arborist Erik Vidmar and was presented at the exhibition of nominees for the OHO award, last year in May I was also looking for an expert in the field of mechanical engineering. The idea of the project was to use a fast-growing plant as a natural source of energy – an engine that drives a quartet of tiny mechanisms in the gallery space. After a long time of calling and searching for the right person, I came across Mr. France Petač, a mechanical technician, already retired. In the first moment of our meeting, I knew that our association would bear fruit. When I asked him how I should repay him for all the information and knowledge given, he told me that he could not issue me an invoice, as he was retired. That the lady who cleans his apartment is sick, and the apartment needs to be cleaned. So instead of paying, I cleaned his apartment. I find this kind of exchange of favors very nice and fun, because it is not only aimed at achieving goals, but is much broader. Soon we drank coffee together and got into a long conversation about mechanical engineering, adventures from his youth, politics... We have been colleagues and friends for almost a year now.
Crystal C, from February 7 to March 7, Gallery 001, Tobačna ulica 1, Ljubljana
www.mgml.si
