Solairs | siraloS

Solaris | siraloS uses Lem Stanislaw’s novel Solaris as a starting point. I wanted to work with this source material for two reasons:

• The premise of a sentient ocean – my practice explores object, animal, and environmental agency. 
• The theme of mimicry – the novel describes simulacra created by the ocean, both in the form of beings created from the unconscious and places - “the shapes were only approximate, like a model garden. That’s exactly what it was like: a model, but lifesize”.

I have used the set design from Tarkovsky’s 1972 film adaptation to inform the sculptural elements of the work, mimicking the upholstered interior and porthole windows. Through my artwork's porthole window you can see the surface of the planet - I used the game engine Unity to create a live simulation of the sentient ocean, the day/night cycle of the planet's binaray suns, and porthole window's reflection into the space stations interior. 

Material: upholstery pleather, buttons, foam, 3D print, MDF, LCD screen and Raspberry Pi with live Unity render