Matthias Roth
The idea is good, but the world not ready yet. (Tocotronic)
The story starts when I was invited for a workshop in Oslo about food, biotechnology and neocolonialism. I have seen some art pieces before which are dealing with crude or waste oil. One of the works which inspired me was 20:50 by Richard Wilson.
In Oslo I called several oil companies and asked if they can provide me some liters of crude oil for creating an art work. But none of these companies can or want to give me this oil. So I carried the window for filling it with wasted motor oil to Athens. The first idea was to portrait people in a country of crises, at the art fair in Athens, in this mirror of oil, which makes Norway to one of the richest countries in the world.
So, at Art Athina I droped the waste oil for hours between the glases of the window and when it was filled up to 2/3 - it cracked and the oil floated over the marble floor. Obviously there was a scratch in one of the glases before and the pressure of the oil let it brake up.
Beside the ready made oil mirror I will show the process of creating this art piece at Gallery Toolbox.
Matthias Roth, June 2014
born for revolution on may 1st, 1970. Roth is living in Berlin, studied at the Kunsthochschule Kassel and the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi. He works on work, socially madness and the culture of remembrance using photography, video, new media and found footage.
The works created during Roth‘s restless travelling are directed against enthnocentrism and the hegemony of mass media. His work is characterized by the demystifying of the Spectacle.
