Erik
Binder
Erik
Binder
Erik Binder (1974) works in practically all media, from drawing, painting, graphics, through objects, installations to performance and working with music, sound, and poetry. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. He lives, creates, receives and broadcasts in Bratislava.
For Erik, art is a way of being in the world – a way of dealing with things, but also with words and thoughts. The principle of his creative process is the almost constant, spontaneous transformation of situations and materials.
He often and gladly welcomes the principle of chance and accident into the creative process. He aims to minimise his decision making, in order to “withdraw from the process, yet still accomplish”.
He’s inspired by subcultures such as hip-hop, skating, and street art. These are united by their respective new works not being created ex nihilo, but rather as a rearranging, layering, and mixing of existing elements. As such, Binder can also be seen as a “visual DJ” and “selector”.
The approach to material is involuntarily ecological and anti-elitist – for him, waste and any “low-end” objects are a full-fledged art resource. He recycles or “up-cycles” discarded materials, giving them a new life cycle. It accepts as equals both growth and emergence, as well as decay and destruction.
The author’s work fulfills the avant-garde idea of merging art with life, and also merging the viewer with art. Ideal visitors are willing to take a step from a passive “looking” to a more active and creative “perception”, and thus complete the work with their own story.