In motorsports, “drifting” refers to a driving technique where the driver deliberately oversteers, causing the rear wheels to lose traction while maintaining control of the vehicle.
Attila Pálfalusi’s installation captures an infinite moment balancing between the state of control and being out of control represented by fifteen side mirrors rotating around suspension points.
The installation draws attention from the vehicle — the actual means of movement — to reflection, to the reality that can be experienced in a state of change. A simultaneous examination of the continuous future and continuous past within the finite present.
Looking into the mirror, we can discover other mirrors, each locked in the act of losing control. Drifting independently in their unique orbits, determined by their own speeds, creating an interconnected system of reflections in a fleeting moment. This system, which reappears and disappears again, can also be seen as an attempt to make sense of the possibilities of our human relationships.
Attila Viktor PÁLFALUSI (born 1989, Miskolc) is a Hungarian media artist and university lecturer. He is currently the head of the Media Design BA program at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME). His work centers on the interconnections of time, reality, and self-reflection, which he examines through kinetic systems, transforming everyday objects into metaphors imbued with profound meaning. His poetic approach explores the tensions between human relationships, desires, and reality, while his dynamic, perpetually moving installations inspire new interpretations of communication and meaning.
He completed his studies at MOME, earning a bachelor’s degree in Media Design in 2014 and a master’s degree in 2016. Since 2017, he has been a doctoral student at MOME’s Doctoral School, focusing on the innovative intersections of media, technology, and art. Over his career, he has showcased his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions. His most notable solo exhibitions include The Critique of Pure Reason (2022, MAMŰ Gallery, Budapest), Farm (2017, Horizont Gallery, Budapest), and Movie Light (2016, Miskolc Gallery, Miskolc). Among his group exhibitions, highlights include Kontroll (2016, Kunsthalle, Budapest) and Tartalomszolgáltatás (2013, NextArt Gallery, Budapest).
As a curator, he has organized several exhibitions, including Showreel (2024, Miskolc Gallery), Level Up (2022, Telep Gallery), Balance/Loss of Balance (2019, Telep Gallery), and Apropo Capa (2017, Capa Center, Budapest). His work has been recognized with several awards and scholarships, including the Derkovits Gyula Fine Arts Scholarship in 2024, the New National Excellence Program Scholarship in 2020, and the City of Miskolc Artist Scholarship in 2016.
In 2024, he served as a jury member at the inaugural AI Film Festival in Budapest, which aimed to showcase and promote film production supported by artificial intelligence. Pálfalusi Attila Viktor represents a unique voice in Hungarian media art and actively contributes to shaping the dialogue between art and technology.
