vera kox

The work of Vera Kox seeks to reconsider the essential nature of sculpture. In her artistic practice, the classic conception of a public monument – a solid, vertical statue standing on a pedestal – makes way for seemingly soft materials, horizontal compositions and found objects or situations whose meaning she alters. Following from her interest in the physical encounter with the objects she conceives, the perception of their weight, material and volume, she stages a play with illusion and a sense of imbalance. Her works seem to have been caught in a transitional stage, a given moment in an ongoing evolution, as if inhabited by a form of life.

Her recent works resonate conceptually with the idea of Symbiocene, according to which humanity must enter a new era where its impact on nature is greatly reduced, and acknowledge the profound interdependence between humans, objects and the environment. Adopting this perspective, the installation “...into the peripheral, reflecting” is situated in an area where the industrial landscape of the city and its natural environment meet. A series of ceramic shapes on a steel beam form the outlines of a fantastical creature, a mutant Narcissus looking at his reflection in the water. This hybrid being encourages us to reflect on what will remain when humanity has disappeared and to wonder which kind of species might appear on the planet it will leave behind.