Spomenik

Hello

My name is Timothe Fernandez I am 24 years old I am a metal sculptor


My series of  sculptures entitled Spomenik is inspired by the eponymous buildings located in present-day former Yugoslavia: Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro...

The term Spomenik, in the Slavic language, means monument or
memorial.

These buildings were erected by the Communist Party to celebrate the martyrs of the liberation war against Nazi Germany.

Their function then evolved.
They served communist propaganda and as a gathering place and symbol of unity for peoples.


During the fall of the Soviet Union, the break-up of Yugoslavia and the Serbo-Croat civil war, the spomenik symbolizing the communist ideal and peace between the two peoples were mostly destroyed or abandoned, radically changing their forms. These new forms now symbolize the conflict between these peoples and the fall of the old regime.

Around this subject I work on the inversion of the symbolism of a monument over time. Their forms having evolved, they no longer fulfil their function, they remain only their plastic and architectural interest.

With these five sculptures I choose to symbolize the fall/collapse not by pieces destroyed, collapsed and corroded but in an in-between situation, a blur, an indefinite temporality, illustrated by the balance/unbalance of my pieces.
One may wonder if the form is falling? or if is it being erected? or even frozen in this two different periods

For most of my sculptures I used a technique similar to origami by folding and welding.
Some are made of the same steel sheet.



Thanks to the Button welding technique (the welding points gradually come to press the sheet metal) I can force it to conform to the desired shape without having to hammer, heat or machine the sheet metal, which would impact its finish. Thanks to this technique I create a smooth curve that gives movement to the piece and reflects either a crushing under its own weight or a slenderness of the shape.
This technique is complex because the welds must all be quite strong, the part being in tension, the risk being that it disintegrates suddenly.

Contrary to what one might think, my sculptures are hollow and therefore more fragile than they seem.

Before closing the part I pour lead which allows to create this impression of imbalance.
This allows the removal of the base, and visually it aerates the room.
Moreover, without a base they do not have a fixed place of exposure, making their current presence questionable.
My parts are autonomous or can once assembled in the same place communicate with each other.

My patina work beyond the enhancement of the piece and the strong interest I have in this discipline allows me to represent the piece either with its original color or with the oxidation of it by time.