2013 'The Messenger' Exhibition at C3 Gallery (Collaboration with Tony Cran), Melbourne

Space probe Voyager traverses the depths of space, a diminutive creation of human ingenuity and an overwhelming desire to reach out, to stretch oneself beyond the limits imposed by our beautiful living Earth. The departure of Voyager from its earthly home was but one of the signifiers of the rapidly changing society in the second half the 20th century. Just like Voyagers' message of peaceful exploration and communication with other life forms out there somewhere, the society witnessed an increasing occurrence of a new type of social movement – one advocating non-violence, respect for other cultures and beliefs, a direction toward a more humanistic way of life. The sincere idealism and beliefs in positive change have since been dulled but we as a society again and again witness echoes of this resurging need to reform – be it the recent Occupy protests or countless initiatives by various social/environmental change organisations.

The Messenger presents the Voyager probe as a hand made object, using found or discarded materials - a symbolic representation of societal hopes and the idealism that personifies the counter-culture movement, adorned with accumulated debris of the collective dreams for a better world. A silent audience watches the probe – 1960's counter culture revolutionaries. We sense the pertinent question arising in our mind – can we really succeed at making this form of resistance a way forward? Can we really change things for better, transform our society, or are we just travelling into empty space?

(excerpt from proposal, Mariana Jandova & Tony Cran, 2013)

2012 'Fata Morgana' Exhibition at Seventh Gallery, Melbourne

A tall ornate black booth without any apparent entry points is positioned at the centre of the gallery space. Its dimensions vaguely resemble a photo booth or a church confessional. Upon closer examination, a small circular opening just below half way up its side is revealed, luring the viewer to kneel and take a peek at what's hidden inside.

Once the viewer succumbs to temptation and peeks into the darkness, the booth reveals a peculiar gold like shimmer flickering and glittering in the dark, which gradually becomes recognisable as sunlight emerging from behind leaves of a tree swaying in the wind, a tree that grows just outside the gallery. 

It is through the elaborate concealment which invites fantasies of secrets, treasures or even peep shows that the image of the sunlit tree is transformed into an object of reverence and desire. It becomes a poignant metaphor for any object of desire but remains ultimately inaccessible as a mere reflection of a reflection.

This installation offers an in-sight, not without a touch of humour, into the extraordinary within the mundane. It is a reflection on human curiosity and construction of value systems, the arch of desire and the notion of the unreachable 'treasures' standing on our doorsteps.

(excerpt from proposal, Mariana Jandova, 2012)

2012 'In the Light of Days to Come' Exhibition at Kings ARI gallery, Melbourne

We find ourselves in a time of growing awareness about the world we inhibit. The journey we take from here will in many way decide what kind of future awaits us. Deep space has long held the human imagination captive but with the world in a global financial turmoil we have to ask ourselves is this the dawn or dusk of the space age? Was it worth the billions of dollars invested over the years? Money that perhaps could have been spent on feeding the hungry, or saving habitation here on Earth. We have eagerly ravaged this planet in the name of human progress, progress which is the very driving force of space exploration.

'In the Light of Days to Come' is an installation reflecting on the human drive to reach the stars, which sometimes comes at a high price. Its focal point is the image of the International Space Station that becomes a symbol of this drive as it hovers just beyond the edge of the great big life sustaining bubble that is our world. It is a representation of our thirst for knowledge but also the collaboration of humanity to achieve something greater than itself. It is a totem of the space age.

(excerpt from proposal, Mariana Jandova, 2012)