Dominik Fiala↓

About the work

What should people know about your work?

In my graduation year I looked after three patients. The first was a painted limestone sculpture of Saint John of Nepomuk from the 18th century. I reconstructed John’s lost arm and attributes, straightened his head in the area of his cervical spine and removed aesthetically unsuitable secondary colour modifications. It was a functional and complex rehabilitation. Another Baroque patient was an unknown female saint – carved out of wood, repainted several times and highly damaged. I uncovered the saint, except for fragments of the original finish consisting of leaves of various metals. The third is an above-human scale figure of a man from the period of social civilianism, manufactured from artificial stone. I reconstructed the missing leg, adding it to the surviving torso, as well as one third of the surficial modelling.

How do you see yourself and your work five years from now?

While studying at AVU I learnt how to make sculptures, as well as learning about how they can lose their qualities and how to restore them. I’m lucky that my work fulfils both the role of a profession, and a hobby that I enjoy. I’m looking forward to the world outside of AVU because studying antiques restoration was hard work and it has prepared me well. I’m not worries that I won’t have paid work, although I know that I still have a lot to learn. Five years from now, I see myself where my roots are – out in the countryside in South Moravia. The world is different over there. Poorer in many respects, but calmer and more cordial. I feel that it’s my duty to pass on the values I have acquired. That’s where I want to start a family, to sing, dance, create and live, now and after my death through what I will leave behind. I look forward to encountering a great deal of beauty in my life though art and restoration.