Toby Ziegler - The Alienation of Objects

Toby Ziegler Alienates the Familiar The London-based artist Toby Ziegler (b. 1972) has searched books and the internet for pictures of historical art objects, such as ancient classical sculptures or Victorian Staffordshire pottery dogs. Using 3D modelling software, Ziegler then turns these images into sculptures in which the features of the original objects are mere references. The alienated pieces are strange, yet recognisable. Toby Ziegler is fascinated by the transformation of pictures and objects when they travel from one age and culture to another. The motifs become simplified and are altered beyond recognition, the underlying stories become layered and are forgotten. Information is lost.

In addition to sculptures, Ziegler’s installation in Kiasma also includes scuffed air freight containers that have travelled around the world. As a sculptor, Ziegler is intrigued by the tension between the large volume and small mass of the sculptures and the containers. The works are made of aluminium, “the aluminium is oxidized, so basically rusted. We scrub them and wash them with caustic acid, which creates the white texture. I wanted a paper-like quality to it, but still not denying what it actually is, which is sheets of aluminium. I wanted them to feel very hollow, like it was just the skin that was creating this form. Somehow they play a game, where they have this large volume and they kind of ask you to believe in that volume. At the same time, they constantly remind you of their hollowness. So it feels like a mass, but at the same time like something inflated, ” says Ziegler.

The sculptures in this installation are part of a group of five works commissioned by the Zabludowicz Collection. The exhibition is sponsored by Finnair Cargo.

Toby Ziegler
The Alienation of Objects