Roman Ondak Dark Side of the Moon, 2023

A wall-mounted sculptural work, Dark Side of the Moon, is characteristic of Roman Ondak's practice of employing readymade materials. Constructed from a re-finished table top and two ladles, we see two black circles: a large round panel that is flat and at its center a circular opening containing a smaller one made from a convex surface.

Elegant and striking with its monochromatic concentric shapes, the work also draws on the previous usage of the materials: a place to convene and kitchen tools to dispense food among a family or group. Forged by his experience of growing up in the former Czechoslovakia, such a reworking of found objects to discover traces of past experiences is a recurring theme in Ondak's practice.

In addition, with the work's title, Ondak invokes his long-standing interest in astronomy, outer space and space travel, evident in the artist's series of Sputnik sculptures or his works in reference to the planet Mars.