Roman Ondák Mailbox, 2014 Found map, found mailbox, plywood 125 x 214 x 14 cm Unique piece The act of selecting and preserving autobiographical items can be seen in the piece entitled Mailbox (2014), a plank of wood from a drawing table taken from the artist’s studio into which a map of Central Czechoslovakia has been inserted, developing a sort of reconnaissance of Roman Ondák’s homeland. He then superimposed en relief a mailbox made from part of a pipe. The mailbox was made by Ondák’s father from a drainpipe - part of a routine in Slovakia in the 1980s when everyday objects were transformed for other uses. The use of familiar and transformed objects into art defines the geographic, familial and private universe of the artist. In addition to the geography and origin of the artist, it also underlines notions of exchange, communication, and an openness to a world beyond local roots.
