'Persistent Illusions' by Troika

With Persistent Illusions, London-based arts collective Troika take on a familiar spectacle of public life, a fountain to transform our modern equivalent of the public square, a shopping mall into a stage for the absurd.

Troika are known for developing new vocabularies at the intersection of sculpture, architecture and contemporary installation. Through Persistent Illusions Troika opens an investigation in perception and the meaning of objects in the public space.

Historically we find fountains to be a feature of choice for city squares, parks and municipal gardens and were often in purpose for the glorification of political leaders, merchants and historical achievements. The Rome Trevi Fountain commissioned by Pope Clement XII defines the city for its many tourists. Louis XIV, the infamous French Sun King fitted his Versailles gardens with ingenious fountains. A claim to man’s mastering of nature, orchestrating a scene made purposely for our enjoyment.

In this great line of heritage however, Troika’s fountain presents us with a distinct problem in the fact that strictly speaking, this is not a fountain. Upon closer inspection, the water in Troika’s fountain is rope, catapulted at a speed so deceptive to the eye that from a distance it could be mistaken for water. Spectacular as seductive, this artificial fountain is a contemporary take on the fountain as object, thus fulfilling its original purpose as a focal point for mall visitors and at the same time an ironic tribute to our great achievements of the past decennia.

'Persistent Illusions' by Troika

'Persistent Illusions' by Troika