Illusio Vitae by Dean Skira

Earlier this year, I was honoured to be invited by the curators of “Design Beyond Things”, an official European Union exhibition at Expo Osaka 2025, to represent my country with an original artwork.

The work was created with deep conviction and commitment. However, due to a shift in EU priorities and budget cuts to cultural programs, the physical shipment of the artworks to Japan has been cancelled.

Instead, the exhibition will now take on a digital format in Osaka, followed by physical exhibitions in Europe. While I’m disappointed the piece won’t be seen in Japan as planned, I remain proud of what I’ve created and that it will stay on my terrace. Here I am sharing both the work and its story.

The sculpture was produced in the Croatian furniture factory PROSTORIA. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Tomislav Knezović, the owner of the factory, and his collaborator Zvonimir Čičak, who took on the challenge of creating this installation.

“Design Beyond Things. The Object as an Agent of Transformation”,

“ILLUSIO VITAE” – “THE ILLUSION OF LIFE”

by DEAN SKIRA

In our quiet solitude of existence stands a chair—simple yet profound.
Crafted from ancient Slavonian oak, a tree that has witnessed centuries, rooted deep in the earth, whispering the secrets of time. The oak itself is life, a testament to resilience, an unbroken dialogue between nature and time.

But this is no ordinary chair. It consists of 27 wooden ribs, each a pillar of unity, connected like the European Union—a collective yet fragmented whole, each nation distinct but intertwined. Between these ribs pulses a red light, like veins beneath the bark, reminding us of what lies beneath: lava, the Earth’s core, the molten origin of all. It is the fire of creation, the force that once shaped the world and now nourishes the roots of the trees from which we build our lives.

The very design is composed of triangles, each representing the fundamental elements of nature: earth, air, and water. These three elements shape the structure, intertwined and dependent on one another, embodying the delicate balance of existence. The red light beneath the seat represents the fourth element—fire, a symbol of energy, warmth, and transformation.

Its outer shell gleams in lacquer—an illusion, a mirage of what we believe life should be. We chase the shine, molding our existence to dazzle, yearning for comfort, wealth, and ease. But when we finally settle into its embrace, reality is revealed. The seat is rough, uneven, made of tree bark, resisting the body that seeks rest. The backrest is curved, refusing to offer ease and comfort. Life, after all, is not the smooth and carefree vision we imagine. No matter how high we climb, how much wealth we accumulate, or how carefully we shape our paths, we must constantly adapt, shift, and seek comfort where there is none.

The armrests tell their own story. At their peaks, fingerprints remain—silent witnesses to our grasp on life. We cling, we hold on, unwilling to let go, even when the weight of existence presses upon us. It is human nature: to hold on until the last breath, to refuse release even as life slips through our fingers.

The chair sits low to the ground. In youth, it welcomes us with ease. As children, we climb onto it with carefree joy, oblivious to its roughness, unbothered by discomfort. But as the years pass, as time leaves its mark on our bodies, the act of sitting becomes a task, rising becomes a challenge. Old age humbles us, reminding us of the gravity of existence, of the slow return to the earth from which we came.

And then there is the light. A floor lamp with a spotlight—its beam directed at the headrest, where our thoughts reside, where our ego reigns. It is the attention we crave, the illusion of importance, the belief that the world is watching, that we are at the center of life’s great stage. We long for the spotlight, for recognition, for immortality in the eyes of others.

Yet, the light blinds, oppresses, distorts our vision. It does not illuminate—it distracts. We begin to live not for ourselves, but for those who watch us. We become actors in a play we did not write, performers in a spectacle that demands our obedience. In this pursuit of visibility, we disappear. We become copies, echoes of one another, followers of followers, dissolving into a faceless mass.

This is ILLUSIO VITAE—the ILLUSION OF LIFE. The paradox of longing and reality, illusion and truth, holding on and letting go. A chair for reflection, a light for realization. Here, we confront our nature, our desires, our own mortality.

And yet, no matter how rough the seat, how blinding the light, how heavy the weight of time—we hold on to life with all our strength. We endure, we fight, we seek beauty even in discomfort, meaning even in struggle. Because in the end, we do not yearn for ease, but for the richness of experience, love, the warmth of existence, the light—no matter how fleeting—that makes it all worth living.

And in the silence of this installation, we are left to wonder—

do we shape life, or does life shape us?

 

Dean Skira

Jan.2025