Oliver Laric

Oliver Laric (b.1981, Innsbruck, Austria) lives and works in Berlin. Laric’s practice asks questions about originality and reproduction – in relation to contemporary digital technology, but also in relation to a much longer history of image and object production. His sculptural works, such as the translucent Sleeping Boy (2016), are derived from original scans Laric makes of artefacts, and are fabricated using contemporary techniques of 3D printing, milling and casting.

The source for this piece is John Gibson’s The Sleeping Shepherd Boy (designed 1818, carved 1824), indicating Laric’s fascination with the neoclassical period, during which artists tried to reprise the artistic and spiritual achievements of ancient Rome and Greece through a process of imitation and replication. Laric’s sculptural approach adds new elements and details rather than producing exact copies, suggesting a permanent state of flux, even as his works crystallise and connect distinct moments in time.

Laric’s scans are available on his website threedscans.com, forming a growing archive and free resource for others.