Nothing More, Nothing Less

catalog Survival 11, Contemporary Art Fundation ArtTransparent, Wroclaw, 2013

Michał Smandek’s work Nothing More, Nothing Less was situated in an old river bed of the Oder, called the Black Water or the Black Stream (from German Schwarzwasser), in the Zalesie district of Wrocław, which was a considerable distance from most of the other events of the Review. The installation was based on glass elements – aquaria – and it was submerged in the water basin. Using the physical properties of water, its buoyancy and pressure, the arrangement of solids did not change the volume of the liquid but only – as it w as the author’s intention – its shape. Situating the installation in a cosy and quiet place harmonised with its contemplative character. The title ‘nothing more, nothing less’ referred to the balance of natural forces. Paradoxically, the artistic concept was unexpectedly confronted with one of these forces when the installation temporarily vanished under the elevated water level, resulting from torrential rains.

Anna Kołodziejczyk