Photography by Olga Antipina.
WHAT DOES ENDURANCE MEAN IN YOUR PRACTICE?
Perseverance has never worried me, but commitment is something different. What exists in my work is to add a new function to an industrial object that is not only practicality or functionality but also meaning. This addition puts the object in the art world, perhaps as [Marcel] Duchamp did, avoiding the decorativism and the superficiality of some of today’s art. I’m not interested in decoration; I don’t want to hide my time; I’m not subject to forms.
HOW DO YOU STAY INSPIRED?
I regularly try not to let my brain atrophy by following repetitions. There is a Catholic proverb: “To make errors is human, but to repeat is diabolical.” I believe that to repeat is only stupid (like Putin who repeats war), and the Devil is intelligent in his way—in the end, we can make a dialogue with him or her. Many times, error introduces new values and points of view, so I’m not afraid of acknowledging that I’m wrong. Mistakes often refresh our minds.
HOW IMPORTANT IS REINVENTION TO YOU? WHAT ABOUT PROGRESS?
A society that does not consider progress important, is a dead society. Progress justifies life. Reinvention is not important, invention is. The idea of progress is immense. It is what allowed us to evolve from [wearing] a dress made with animal skin and holding a club to today, where we can travel with supersonic planes. Everything is possible with progress; the duty of our work is to transform it in the present constantly.
