Catalogue Hermetic City

Sandro Setola’s work is based on his keen interest in natural processes and phenomena. Universal processes such as isolation, expansion, transformation, growth and decline, as well as their role in everyday reality, are interpreted and expressed in a personal and poetic way. In his ominous drawings, Setola often freezes these processes allowing the visitor to finish them in their imagination. Similarly, he sometimes begins to create dystopian places and buildings that are constructed with (as yet) unknown materials.

Contrary to his drawings, Setola’s installations and animations let him bring these processes to life and create a unity or a story. Starting in 2004, he has focused mainly on the theme of architecture and construction processes and their underlying ideals (or lack of them). Because he always produces unfinished outlines for architectural constructions, his buildings could end up in many different shapes and forms. These works of art can enter a twilight zone between desire and reality which subsequently raises questions about their role and meaning.

Some of Setola’s work can be considered as commentaries on our daily, urban environments: Setola shows buildings that seem to be designed to express discomfort or do not have any clear role at all. Other works focus on the strong ties between the abovementioned natural and universal processes as well as their psychological parallels: the way in which these processes occur simultaneously in our own minds and lives. These works of art show that Setola’s architectural structures are nothing more than representations of a certain human personality or state of mind.