Marek Šilpoch

Marek Šilpoch graduated from the graphic design and visual communication studio and then from the glass studio at UMPRUM. From a relatively young age he worked as a freelance designer, which gave him a lot of experience. He is currently studying a doctoral programme at the Faculty of Arts of the Jagiellonian University under the supervision of artist Pavel Mrkus.

The subject of his research is light in various contexts, which he has been studying for the last eight years. He is currently on an internship at the Vrije Institute for Environmental Studies in Amsterdam.

“Balancing on the Edge of Comfort Zone. That’s how I would describe the bike ride back home from Croatia that inspired the entire Event Horizon series of light objects. How naive I was when I tried to ride 200 km on the first day, after a week of not standing on land for more than 20 minutes. I wanted to outdo myself, even at the cost of possible injury. I can’t count the number of times I found myself at the edge of my comfort zone, the amount of effort I put into not giving up. I was driven forward by an irrepressible desire to prove that I could do it. Just like in my life and work. A desire to climb to the top even at the cost of nonstop effort that made me a slave to my own desires.”

Marek Šilpoch has projected his border experiences from his bicycle trip from Croatia to the Czech Republic into the entire collection of Event Horizon light objects. He named a more general problem – the desire to overcome oneself and prove to oneself that some limits exist only in the head. Along the way, he created a series of sketches, which he then used as a basis for his light works, including Event Horizon 216.

The object is a symbolic statement about the subconscious manifestation of the ego, the exploration of one’s own limits and honesty with oneself.