“Painting Wrapped in Plastic” is a two-part relief created in 2024. The work was made using traditional sculptural techniques. First, panels resembling plastic film were created, matching the dimensions of paintings. Silicone molds were taken from their surfaces, encapsulated in polyester resin and fiberglass. In the next phase, the “paintings” were removed from the silicone negative molds. After refining the negative molds, several layers of black polyester resin, reinforced with fiberglass, were applied into them. Once the material had cured, the negative mold was removed from around the positive form.

In the final stage, the work was repaired, refined, washed, and painted. Once the paint had dried, the piece was ready for exhibition.

The work originates from the joint exhibition “Symbiosis” by Allmägi and Piile. In preparation for the exhibition, Allmägi studied Piile’s works and attempted to create something in the medium of sculpture that referenced or was inspired by the fellow artist’s pieces. The play revolved around juxtaposing the media of painting and sculpture. What are the differences between two-dimensional and three-dimensional expression?

“Painting Wrapped in Plastic” has the same dimensions as Piile’s two-part paintings shown at the “Symbiosis” exhibition. On one hand, the intent was to explore how hyperrealism/photorealism functions differently in painting versus sculpture. Piile’s works often feature hyperrealistically painted areas or entire compositions. However, when similar elements are depicted in sculpture, they do not appear convincing. In the case of a hyperrealistic human sculpture, the result tends to resemble a wax figure. When depicting an animal, it resembles a taxidermy mount. Such outcomes distance us from both art and believability. In painting, hyperrealism works better due to a double illusion: first, a three-dimensional world is depicted two-dimensionally; second, a hyperrealist painting does not primarily reference the real world but rather the photo taken of it — hence the notion of hyperrealism/photorealism.

I realized that to convincingly deal with hyperrealism in sculpture, one must instead create so-called material deceptions, where the viewer’s eye cannot distinguish illusion from reality. The starting point for the depicted motif (a painting wrapped in plastic) is something that accompanies every exhibition transport — artworks being wrapped in black plastic. The intention was to create a piece permanently wrapped, symbolically carrying within it expectations — what might be inside that package — and the potential for either surprise or disappointment.

To illustrate that this is not just a cleverly constructed narrative, the author of the “plastic painting” has, at home, a gift received in 2021 that still remains wrapped in gift paper. The giver said it was an artwork, but the recipient has never looked beneath the wrapping. Nevertheless, the wrapped piece is displayed equally alongside other artworks at home.

Sometimes, the expectation of the gift is better than its contents.