"Kreuz und quer durch das Square" ("Crisscross through the square"), 2012, approx. 50x40x30cm (1.6x1.3x0.9 ft),

digital animation 4m50s (looped), miniature video projector, acrylic on wood, computer fan, paper.

In the title for Bartosz Sikorski's video installation Kreuz und quer durch das Square a reference to one of the most prominent motifs of abstract art is revealed: the square. The addition that one is to be taken "crisscross" through that object hints to an ironizing resp. playful approach with this solemn form. In fact the installation disputes the typical presentation of a static picture. The image carrier—semitransparent tracing paper—is not mounted vertically on the wall, but horizontally, attached only on one side to the wood border, floating on a stream of air emitted by a computer fan. The quadratic image is in turn not painted on the moving paper, but projected on the back side with a small projector from below. It sends the image through an oblong hole in a wooden structure which is also the mount for the fan. Looking at the installation from the front the projector remains hidden, with only the cables attesting to this mechanism. The image that the installation produces is just as in motion as its carrier: not only does it follow the movement of the paper in the air stream, but also it consists of multiple strips, which change their color as well as, intermittently, their direction.When looking at the object for a longer period of time this creates an irritating effect.

Text - Gabriel Hubmann

Translation - Fabian Bazant-Hegemark