I have commented on two works by Solkide previously, Black Pearl and Radiazioni; those were abstract studies of form. His latest piece, Spitfire, is more puzzling; it feels as though it should have some sort of narrative, but I can’t untangle it.
As I view it, the work has two parts. The lower part is a metallic ball launcher that reminds me of a pinball machine. We see ghost images of a compressed spring and of the ball in earlier positions, suggesting the launch of the ball. There is, however, no visible mechanism to cause the compression of the spring or the launch of the ball. At the end of the chute where the ball travels, there is a cone of near transparent rings; inside the cone is a structure of partial arcs, and in the center a ball that reminds me of molten lava.
A literal reading might see the molten ball as the fire, and the launcher as something that “spits” out balls. But that seems a bit too pat. And where does the molten ball come from, anyway? The launcher is spitting out a metallic ball, nothing like the molten one. Perhaps the structure of arcs acts on the balls somehow?
Solkide may be moving into awkward ground here; enough representation to be not purely abstract or “hyperformal” (as Dancoyote would say), but not enough to offer a coherent story. I continue to enjoy Solkide work with form; I’m just a bit confused this time. But then, sometimes good art is confusing.