Panamarenko

It’s impossible to actually take flight with Paradox; what matters is that the work embodies the idea of flying. Breaking free from the world’s weight and gravity; dreaming of taking flight, feeling free – these seem to be the guiding principles of Panamarenko, a leading figure on the Belgian contemporary art scene. An inventor, tinkerer, physics enthusiast but above all a visual artist, the Antwerp-based artist is the creator of ‘strange machines’: submarines, aeroplanes and flying saucers situated halfway between art and science in a playful and utopian imagination. Speaking of Paradox, Panamarenko says: “It’s a simple principle, comparable to that of a ball dropped onto the ground that bounces back: action and reaction. The propeller sends air upwards, which presses the basket against the ground. At the same time, the parachute is inflated by the propeller, and so the air sent upwards is directed downwards again. Once this upward and downward current is set in motion, the whole thing can take off.” 

This translation has been automatically generated by DeepL.