"Ultraleve" is an installation in the public space of the Brazilian capital, which was originally built "on the raw root" in the country's interior and founded as the embodiment of modernist utopia of ideal city. Designed by Lucio Costa, in collaboration with Oscar Niemeyer its urban plan took the shape of an airplane. This form became a direct source of inspiration for Althamer's project.
The artist inscribed his installation in the local context, at the same time making a reference to political reality in his native Poland. The Brazilian "wing" has been adorned with a checkerboard in the national colors. The Polish embassy's employees, living permanently in the city of Brasila, were invited to participate in the process of installing the work and therefore have become a link between two ostensibly distant territories.
The project was realised within the framework of Aberto Brasilia -an open air project, the art of reinventing the city, it comprises of 18 national and foreign arts who have approached several aspects of the Brazilian capital with a prospective and poetic gaze. Curated by Wagner Barja, the director of Museu Nacional do Conjunto Cultural da Republica in Brasilia for the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil.
"Ultraleve" by Pawel Althamer is commissioned and produced by Open Art Projects, a non-profit foundation devoted to contemporary art which produces projects, materialises artistic concepts, organises exhibitions and pursues publishing activities.
The project is financially supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Partner: Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Brasilia.
For more information on "Ultraleve" see: openairprojects.
Source: e-flux.com