Episode 4

Edition of 4 + 2 AP

Dimensions: 164cm x 100cm
Transparency in light-box, custom glass panel with cutouts, tabernacle window frame

EPISODE SYNOPSIS

Bright Italian sunlight illuminates the box office of cinema Il Sogno, or The Dream. Surrounded by empty pistachio shells, movie props and 20-year-old awards, sits Andrea, the owner. Only two films to choose from: A blue ticket or a pink ticket. The sunlight also reveals what we were not supposed to see: leftover traces of red nail polish.

How do we give in to our deepest desires if they conflict with society’s norm? We search for a way out, an escape. Some seek refuge in movies where we can identify with its protagonists, and through them, play the role we long for. Similarly, the peephole in the door provides a passage to the alternative reality of Episode 5, Cinema Il Sogno: La Stella. Together, these Episodes constitute one world in opposite appearances: from day to night, and from reality to desire.

VIVARIUM

Vivarium is an ongoing series of constructed dioramas, called Episodes. In the creation of these worlds Hardy fuses his imagination, personal memories and true events into ‘purposeful fiction’. Together, Vivarium’s Episodes explore the coherence and complexity of our zeitgeist.

For each Episode, Hardy designs, builds and photographs a new world in his studio. His photomontages are shown life-size - one-to-one - in a lightbox with a window frame, resulting in hyper-realistic works that spark a direct encounter between the viewer and the subject. 

As Hardy places one or more characters in a meticulously arranged setting, he merges ambivalent, melancholic scenes of private moments in the public, with social issues such as conspiracy thinking, racial profiling, and pre-defined gender identities. By addressing a different topic in each Episode while applying a consistent working method, Vivarium is an expanding multiverse of portals where life takes place.

Each constructed tableau takes 3 to 4 months to complete. Vivarium is an ongoing project that Hardy started in 2018.