OBJECT

A solid object, much larger than a human. Monumental. Heavy. Prone, horizontal. Peaceful. Resembling a cylinder, but not perfectly geometric. Monochromatic bark layer. Slightly ruddy cross-section. A circular organic structure of the tree rings.
So much for what it’s like and how it affects us. If I start hanging context on it, it loses its autonomy. Of course, it would lose even more autonomy if the organizer were to be unable to get it inside the gallery for logistical reasons. In that case, only its simulacrum would be displayed, and its autonomy would no longer have much to do with the autonomy of the object on display. With the simulacrum, the object serves merely as an excuse, a mask concealing the forced autonomy of the author of the simulacrum.
We would know the difference if we were forced to use one of these objects in dire cold: beech firewood would keep us warm all winter while its portrait would not even be enough to warm our hands. However, we would come to this realization only in the moment of our OWN existential need. When other people’s needs are at stake, we exclaim “Oh, dear!” and click “Next”. There is even a word for this behavior, characteristic of the information society: “oh-dear-ism”. This type of behavior is reminiscent of the times when people would clamor to relish in the sight of public executions...

ARTIST

He reached global acclaim in the times of net.art with projects such as Hommage to Mondrian, Nice Page and net.art.trade. His later projects still feature technologies, where he himself keeps a critical distance.
He uses his self-made machines as extensions of his body; they replace his connection to the Matrix, which his body rejects organically. He used his Lalaboro machine to make wood carvings of In/Form/Ation, composed of translations of familiar websites in code language, which can only be decoded by measuring the depths of the holes. Another time, he used a magic marker to draw a line grid on wood panels, which were created as a result of post-production of familiar photographs. He considers wood to be the most autonomous of materials, and wants it to represent him in this exhibition in its most monumental form.
He is currently in the final stages of work on a device which will be able to produce plastic items. This way, he moves from art as it is known to the western art system into the space of autonomous objects, as they were used in Japanese and Chinese traditional culture.
He also devotes his time to teaching.

— www.spiller.si