Geometry and Light in HYBYCOZO's Largest Installation Yet

In time to celebrate 10 years of making some of the largest geometrically designed large-scale installations, duo artists Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk, also known as HYBYCOZO, debut their largest display yet, "Dimensions", at Sensorio, the immersive outdoor museum in Paso Robles.

Dimensions result from three years of meticulous craftsmanship, featuring 44 polyhedral shapes intricately adorned with unique patterns. Among them, four monumental sculptures beckon visitors to step inside an “interstellar village,” as the artist puts it. At its core lies a communal centerpiece accommodating over 20 individuals, creating a space for introspection and connection through metal sculptures exploring the relationship between light and music, shadow and pattern, environment and form. With this, creating a perfect combination of an immersive audiovisual experience with composer Allen Hulsey who produced a bespoke soundtrack for the visual elements.

The two have created public artworks across California, such as Brookfield Properties in LA and Beverly Hills Canon Gardens, and have shown their work globally at places like Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Smithsonian Institute, Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival, UAE, and many more.

In an exclusive interview, the artists reveal insights into making their largest installation yet, a sensory journey between sculpture and environment. We get behind-the-scenes studio images from a previous commission in Oakland, in a rare glimpse into the synergy that fuels their artistry, between craft and precision machine work.

_HYBYCOZO is a collaborative installation art studio composed of Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk, known for their captivating celebration of geometric forms and intricate patterns. And in case you were wondering, Hybycozo stands for The Hyperspace Bypass Construction Zone.
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How often are you guys in the studio?

It feels like 8 days a week! Because we are also a couple it feels like we can slip into talking about work or decide to go to the studio at any time, morning, noon night or any day. While of course we have worked on creating boundaries between life and work, it is a great benefit that we can decide.. hey we're going to work late at the studio tonight on a Tuesday and then take a Wednesday to do whatever we like. This helps us stay inspired as well because we have no set schedule.

How many people do you have help in the making of the sculptures?

We work with a fantastic metal fabrication shop to help the sculpture on a large scale laser cutting machine. Then we have a very special group of friends who came to support the construction of Dimensions. We called it the A team.. the cream of the crop of everyone who has worked with us in the past. Additionally, we connected with a local team in Paso Robles that helped us put everything together. Shout out Jose and team!

For three years, you've been focused on research behind "Dimensions", what was the initial idea behind the sculpture?

The idea was to create another world... a feeling that you were walking up to a village in a foreign land. For me the idea came just as I was feeling the push and pull of wanting to create a family but somehow feeling that will cause me to leave my village and community, and tension between the family and community that is in the United States. I don't feel like that is a tension that was experienced by people in the past.

What are some of the challenges you run into during the making of your work?

The biggest challenge is not being able to test build the sculptures in advance. Because they are so big and sometimes require cranes and other heavy machinery and need to be bolted to a foundation, we cannot test them in our studio beforehand. So you have to just arrive and hope that it will work!

What's the future after "Dimensions" look like for you?

We are thrilled to announce a significant transformation in our artistic approach. While our work from 2014 to 2023 has primarily focused on single-shape polyhedral forms, we have embarked on an exciting new chapter in 2023 by developing a fresh visual language. This new approach allows us to explore compound, stacking, and tessellating polyhedral shapes in our sculptures, expanding our creative horizons and pushing the boundaries of our craft.

Our debut of this innovative direction took place at the esteemed Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, where we had the honor of showcasing our work alongside some of our most admired artists and visionaries, including Buckminster Fuller and James Turrell. This opportunity not only marks a pivotal moment in our artistic journey but also solidifies our commitment to exploring and redefining the boundaries of geometric sculpture.