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Tomislav Topić Layers Hundreds of Panels into Prismatic Mesh Installations
In the grand tradition of theatrical spectacle that transforms mere space into narrative, artist Tomislav Topić has engineered a breathtaking new form of stagecraft with his prismatic mesh installations, most notably the staggering 'Echoverse. ' This isn't simply an art piece; it's a monumental performance where light, color, and geometry are the principal actors.Comprising a meticulously orchestrated cast of 451 individual panels, each layered with one of 57 distinct colors, 'Echoverse' unfolds across a nearly 100-foot-long proscenium, creating a visual symphony that feels both architectural and ephemerally delicate. Like the most intricate Broadway set design, where every painted flat and carefully positioned scrim contributes to the audience's suspension of disbelief, Topić’s work relies on the cumulative power of hundreds of precise, individual decisions.The mesh itself acts as a dynamic scrim, its transparency and refractive quality changing with the viewer's perspective, much like the experience of watching a live performance from different seats in a house—each angle reveals new interactions of color and form, new harmonies and dissonances. This is not art that hangs passively; it performs.It reminds one of the legendary choreography of a Busby Berkeley number, where the collective movement of many individuals creates a single, mesmerizing geometric pattern, or the way a cascading crystal chandelier in a major musical number can become a central character, reflecting and fracturing light to amplify the emotional core of a scene. Topić’s process is one of painstaking layering, a rehearsal of sorts for the final installation, where hundreds of panels must find their exact place in the ensemble to achieve the desired prismatic effect.The result is a work that exists in a state of perpetual becoming, a visual echo that resonates with the viewer long after they have left its presence, its title, 'Echoverse,' perfectly capturing the lingering, reverberating impact of a truly powerful theatrical experience. It demonstrates that the most compelling stories are not always told with words, but can be woven, panel by panel, into a silent, shimmering aria of color and light, proving that installation art, at its best, shares the same fundamental goal as the theatre: to transport us, to awe us, and to make us see the world from a slightly more magical point of view.
#Tomislav Topić
#Echoverse
#mesh installation
#contemporary art
#prismatic
#layered panels
#featured