Carousel

The Carousel, Ant Łakomsk’s individual presentation at the Emergence sector of Art Basel Paris 2026 consists of a sculptural-photographic installation and a series of paintings that altogether form an integral whole. Taking into account the context of time and place, the presentation considers the character and architecture of the art fair stand — which resembles a corridor cut in half lengthwise — and the flow of the audience. It is designed to engage/reflect/distort the movement of passers-by along the stand.

The centrally located carousel slide projector performs the role of the ‘engine’ of the presentation. Opposite it is a diptych of small sculptures depicting two figures, which are conventionally ‘set’ in motion by the projector’s alternating light. Five tall, narrow paintings (Lara Study 1-5, 2026) depict a walking figure in various phases of movement. Their shape and regular rhythm are reminiscent of the longitudinal slits between the slides in the cartridge of a running projector. The format of the paintings (220 x 28 cm) makes it impossible to depict the entire scene – in each one, the figure essentially steps beyond the frame. It is only by moving your eyes along the wall that you can ‘set’ the figure in motion. The fragmentary character of these representations mimics the fleeting nature of observations of reality being in constant motion. The slide projector also has an acoustic function—the slides move at a rhythmic pace, emitting a sound similar to footsteps.

The elements of the presentation are permeated by a structural paradox: static sculptures are animated by a projector’s light; the projector, a photographic device, does not display photographs, but a beam of light. Meanwhile, painting, not photography, is used to freeze the phases of movement. The poetic machinery thus created is a celebration of uncertainty, speculation and transience. Interested in issues of identity and image, as well as the ways in which they are constructed, intermediated and perceived, Łakomsk also considers the role that artistic tools play in the perception and experience of reality.