Hotdog Party: Saturday, 18 January 16:00 - 18:00
Enter Casper Braat's workshop. Here, a classic Porsche 911 is in the process of being recreated in marble, piece-by-piece, from the massive enginge block all the way to the wheel bolts. 'Work in Progress' is an installation replicating Casper’s marble carving atelier. Presented in this dusty white space are sculptures in various stages of completion, where finished and unfinished works are each deliberate creations. The line between art objects and the tools we use to create art is actively blurred, resulting in works that highlight upon craftsmanship and labour, with the allure of artistic process in action.
This fictive workshop presents an idealised depiction of the artist Casper Braat and glamourises the intense labor and craftsmanship of the actual creation process. The in-progress marble automobile represents a constant state of becoming. It's an ambitious project that is near-impossible to complete, placing focus on the elegance of the process rather than the end result alone.
The cultural value we place on status symbols, such as automobiles, reflects our societal emphasis on wealth, success, and prestige. These everyday objects are useful and practical yet have the ability to embody aspirations, achievements, and identity, shaping how we perceive ourselves and others. The dismantled car's individual components are disintegrated and non-functional on their own, and the status relating to the completed car transitions to a new form – the everyday. Casper Braat explores the meaning of these individual parts, questioning the point in which they begin to attain status and/or when they remain nothing at all.
Workweek
Part of the exhibition is 'Workweek', a 40-hour film that documents Casper Braat carving a cubic meter of marble into a cubic centimeter by hand over 20 days. Representing a full-time work week, the film prompts viewers to reflect on the work that goes into the modern conveniences we take for granted. It also investigates the absurdity of investing such extreme effort into creating something tiny.
About the Artist
The work of Casper Braat (Amsterdam, 1991) presents the everyday as pure extravagance, a perspective that is driven by his profound fascination with consumer society. His sculptures and installations lift the ordinary onto a pedestal. Monumental in material, his work is made to last forever, memorialising the excess of the present for future generations. Work in Progress was first previewed during a solo presentation at Enter Art Fair 2024 (Copenhagen, DK).
