Push Power
An immersive media art installation that contemplates strength and fragility
Photos by Francesco LoCastro
Push Power (2024) draws inspiration from the energy and tensions of recent years—divisive thoughts, polarizing debates, and conflicting forces prompting people to choose sides in an increasingly fractured landscape. This work, a collaboration between several artists and technologists led by Francesco LoCastro, was created using 3D printing technology and computer animation.
The artwork reflects “existential forces consistently trying to assert dominance and claim ownership of the environment.” Rendered through abstraction in a slender sculptural form, it conveys assertiveness and tension. Appearing as a towering structure illuminated in striking red light, it can swiftly transform into the icy slopes of a shimmering glacier or iceberg in hues of aqua and fuchsia. This interplay of strength and fragility is deliberate, symbolizing humanity's relentless drive to construct monuments to its own glory, often at the expense of the ecosystem's balance and stability..
“We often want to distinguish ourselves, to be separate from each other, from technology, from nature, not realizing that we are part of an ever-evolving organism, at the mercy of much larger, ancient forces, dancing between efficiency and entropy”
Merging art and technology seamlessly, the installation reflects the interplay between humanity, architecture, nature, and societal networks. Presenting environments and landscapes from multiple perspectives reveals connections between physical reality and underlying power structures, continually addressing the growing impact of civilization within the context of accelerating natural evolution.
The Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, organized by the Orlando Museum of Art, brings recognition to progressive artists living and working in Florida. Each year, OMA's curatorial team surveys the state's art scene and invites ten artists to participate. Now in its tenth edition, the Prize underscores OMA's commitment to contemporary art and its support for Florida-based artists.
The selected artists, ranging from emerging to mid-career, often have distinguished records of national and international exhibitions and awards. They are united by their engagement with significant cultural and artistic ideas, expressed in original and visually compelling ways.
Push Power
Orlando Museum of Art
2024 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art
Curator: Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon
Artwork & Animation: Francesco Lo Castro
Sound: Danny Daze
Lighting/Kinetics Mikhail Mansion
Fabrication: Miami Grill Giftshop & BEK Milling
Lead Preparator: Adam Lavigne