Pegasum novum, Nedim Hadziahmetovic

The sculpture is a part of the cycle project “Dividualism and apparent symmetry”. It has its visual roots in exploring and exploiting mythical creatures and its adaptation to contemporary, modern cognition.

Various civilizations had a number of different flying beings and beats that had no obvious flying origin; some of them like Griffon embodied more than two different animals into one image. All of these creatures are rooted in myth, our subconscious pool of records and memories of our ancestors from distant past. Many of these beings were worshiped in ancient temples, sacrifices of living animals and sometimes even humans were presented to gods of mezzo American, Mediterranean, Asian and Middle east cultures.

This project takes Pegasus, the flying horse into focus, and fantastic mythological synergy of a horse and wings. Hence the incredible advantage of an already powerful creature. Deity’s or deity related creatures have flying abilities and that is one of the basic descriptions or difference between mortals and above mentioned.

In this project the author explores and exploits the fantastic image of a horse with wings by excluding front legs, integrating flat linear surfaces as symbolic wings. A new deity, his root may as well be in video games or fiction movies not yet known to us. Having front legs obviously invisible, visually not present in composition doesn’t necessarily mean that they do not exist. The moment in which the sculpture is captured does not claim if Pegasus is landing or it is about to take off. Hence, the front legs might just appear or they were just moments ago pulled inside the body, or fuselage if related to airplane description. Hence, the Pegasum Novum is a shapeshifter.

The composition is a synergy of even more impossible integrity celebrating the future that somehow gives prediction of fact that Science is the new God and that miracles that science performs are tangible and accessible and evenly fantastic.

Having this sculpture in stainless steel, the material itself adds to a fantastic potential of the artwork, adding reflection and mirror effect to a spectator, creating its own lens flare effect.