Self-contemplation

Size: 187x55x50 cm
73x21x20 in
Weight: 25 kg / 55 lb
Year: 2021
Materials and technique: steel; welding

Through an impersonal image of a child holding a small fish, Alexander Dedov interprets the relationship between man and nature. Observing a fragile creature, whose life can be interrupted by an awkward movement or intentionally, a person, in fact, observes and knows himself.
By owning and disposing of someone else's life, he gets a false sense of divine power. Using the example of the dissected body of a dolphin, the sculptor shows the process of deformation of nature by a person who seeks to transform it in his own interests. The dolphin is a symbolic representation of water, nature and the surrounding world.
The artist created an image of the feet submerged in water, hiding them outside the space of the sculpture. Through this image, Alexander Dedov compares a person to a tree that is rooted deep underground. Water is interpreted by Dedov as the source of life on earth and at the same time as one of the elements of destructive natural elements. It can create life and regenerate it, but it can also destroy all living things. The sculpture symbolizes the hierarchy and cyclical relationship of man with nature, as well as their continuous mutual influence.
An aggressive or childishly frivolous, irresponsible invasion of humanity into the realm of nature can cause a tragic and irreversible spontaneous reaction. Every person and, in particular, every child has a choice on which their future depends: to show an act of power and take the fish for themselves, playing with it until it runs out of life force, or to let it go back into the water, allowing nature to coexist harmoniously with us and in ourselves.