Attila Csörgő’s artistic practice usually starts from a physical or geometric problem, and his works are the end results of mental gymnastics. However, the stakes are always high, because according to the rules of mathematics and physics, the system either works perfectly or not at all; there are no half-measures. Csörgő applies the rules of geometry in a goal-oriented manner in order to create the artwork and the conceived construction. His works explore the specific problem through multiple media — spatial constructions are often accompanied by drawings and photographs — as his goal is to make the process by which he arrived at the solution understandable to the viewer.
The exhibition Peeled Spaces presents a selection of works in which the artist experiments with unconventional methods of representing space. How can a spatial geometric object be transformed into a flat version? How can space be twisted out of itself? How can something that is invisible to the human eye in reality be presented? These are the questions that preoccupy Csörgő, and the works themselves are, in fact, possible answers. The works presented in the exhibition were created in different periods, but in fact they all fit into a conceptual arch that explores the problem of peeling in Csörgő’s oeuvre. He uses the same technique as fruit peeling: if we manage to peel an orange peel in a single spiral shape, for example, we get a flat grid of the fruit. In this form, we can see all sides at once, and Csörgő is curious to see how other spatial forms can be changed by peeling.
The Peeled City was created during a residency program in New York, where Csörgő drew inspiration from the ziggurat-like skyscrapers found there, which were named after the stepped temple towers of Mesopotamia. The photo series captures the process of peeling as a performance, transforming the body into a flat sheet of paper at the end of each phase. Unlike other peeled works, these are colored, indicating the different sides, but their aesthetic quality also aids in the peeling process.
The Orange Square project began with the construction of a complex camera capable of capturing the image of the surrounding space in a spherical shape. This required a mechanical system capable of simultaneously moving the camera itself and the sphere placed inside it, to which spiral-cut photographic paper was attached. In this photography-based work, it is not the subject of the image that becomes the cardinal question, but rather the manner in which it is captured.
The series Bad Cubes starts from the question: what happens if the edges of the cube’s spatial network are not properly aligned with each other? During the experiment, two additional rules had to be followed: the body cannot remain hollow, meaning that all edges must fit together, and the sides cannot cover each other, meaning that they cannot overlap. Csörgő created new bodies with these rules in mind. The “bad” cubes shown here are possible solutions to the problem, but the series can be continued at any time.
Csörgő deals with timeless problems that never have just one possible solution, so he periodically revisits his older works to find new solutions for them. These works are situated at the intersection of art, philosophy, and science, where optics, photography, and geometry all become methods of thinking.
Boglárka Tóth