VCA ART 2020

Niko Sopelario

Master of Contemporary Art

How do we make sense of ourselves during these polarised times, characterised by ever shifting reality and chaos? How do we find agency in what seems like helplessness? How do we navigate what is true/the truth for us? How do we heal from ancestral wounds and shame? What is the nature of transcendence and the human consciousness? My project is a culmination of these enquiries. My work explores the materiality of encaustic wax and oil painting on brass. It attempts to bridge a synthesis with artificial intelligence and records the outcomes via my video works. Utilising complex neural network technology, I process source imagery of my immediate family and ancestors. This operates like a feedback loop, further influencing my painting process.

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niko_sopelario@hotmail.com
Niko Sopelario, He eats Cake, Oil and Wax Encaustic on Mounted brass 30.7cm x 41cm, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen
Niko Sopelario, He eats Cake, oil and wax encaustic on mounted brass, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen.
Niko Sopelario, She Eats Cake, Oil and Wax Encaustic on Mounted brass 30.7cm x 41cm, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen
Niko Sopelario, She Eats Cake, oil and wax encaustic on mounted brass, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen.
Niko Sopelario, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...' at VCA, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...', Three video works, each single channel 6 min loop with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin. Brass perspex sculptures, various sizes, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen
Niko Sopelario, Shhh... installation view, three 6min looped single channel videos with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin, brass perspex sculptures, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen.
Niko Sopelario, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...' at VCA, Installation view 2 of 'Shhh...', Three video works, each single channel 6 min loop with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin. Brass perspex sculptures, various sizes, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen
Niko Sopelario, Shhh... installation view, three 6min looped single channel videos with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin, brass, perspex sculptures, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen.
Niko Sopelario, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...' at VCA, Installation view 3 of 'Shhh...', Three video works, each single channel 6 min loop with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin. Brass perspex sculptures, various sizes, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen
Niko Sopelario, Shhh... (installation view), three 6min looped single channel videos with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin, brass, perspex sculptures, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen
Niko Sopelario, Shhh... (installation view), three 6min looped single channel videos with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin, brass, perspex sculptures, 2020. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen
Niko Sopelario, Video 1 (Faith) of "Shhh...", 3min looped single channel video projection on layered muslin with 45 minute (528Hz Binaural) soundscape, recording of Artificial Intelligence algorithm and GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) machine learning on source footage of brass patina textures, and painterly marks over footage of mangrove forest and self-portrait-performance of artist, 2020
Niko Sopelario, Video 2 ('Six Seconds') of 'Shhh...', 6min looped single channel video projection on layered muslin with 45minute (528 Hz Binaural) soundscape, recording of Artificial Intelligence algorithm and GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) machine learning on a combination of various source images of brass patina textures, 300 various open source nebulae imagery, photographs and video footage of various South Asian mangrove forests, and 45 source photographs of artist’s childhood, parents and grandparents integrated into and behind the performing body of artist moving for two seconds (slowed down to 20 seconds) each, 2020. Videography by Garth Ernstzen. Documentation by Garth Ernstzen
Niko Sopelario, Video 3 (‘Ancestral Chasm’) of ‘Shhh…’, 6min looped single channel video projection on layered muslin with 45minute (528 Hz Binaural) soundscape, recording of Artificial Intelligence algorithm and GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) machine learning on 45 source photographs of artist’s childhood, parents and grandparents, combined and integrated with various source footage of brass patina textures, 300 various open source nebulae imagery, and 1500 photographs of various South Asian mangrove forests and European Pine trees, 2020
Niko Sopelario, *Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...' at VCA*, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...', Three video works, each single channel 6 min loop with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin. Brass perspex sculptures, various sizes, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker
Niko Sopelario, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...' at VCA, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...', Three video works, each single channel 6 min loop with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin. Brass perspex sculptures, various sizes, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker, Eliza Dyball and Aaron Rees.
Niko Sopelario, *Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...' at VCA*, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...', Three video works, each single channel 6 min loop with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin. Brass perspex sculptures, various sizes, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker
Niko Sopelario, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...' at VCA, Installation view 1 of 'Shhh...', three 6min looped single channel videos with 45 minute binaural (528Hz)soundscape projected on layers of sheer muslin, brass, perspex sculptures, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker, Eliza Dyball and Aaron Rees.

Master of Contemporary Art

Ingmar Apinis
Jeremy Blincoe
Jia Jia Chen
Yuqing Chen
Jodie Di Natale
Stephanie Garner
Ebony Hickey
Kachun Lay
Karleng Lim
Emmy Mavroidis
Anna McDermott
Arna Meldrum
Olivia Mròz
Yuying Pang
Niko Sopelario
Anna Steele
Luigi Vescio

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campus is situated, the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations. We also acknowledge and extend our respect to the Traditional Owners of all lands on which our work is viewed, shared and enjoyed, and to all Elders, past, present and emerging.

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