Octopussy is a “synergetic” sculpture from the “Strained Structures” series. The work radicalizes the principle of form based on function into a generative function, in which a metaphorical quality liberated from the creative will to form becomes effective. What all “Strained Structures” have in common is the ability to transfer kinetic energy by means of torsionally oppositely tensioned bands. (The underlying principle is also called “Tensed Structures”).

The principle of transmission remains transparent to the viewer. According to the artist, one could speak of an “embodied metaphor” (ancient Greek μεταφορά “transmission”). In the case of Octopussy, it is based on eight interlocking elements in a closed loop, which are driven by four motors. Ie transmission of mechanical energy takes place via the twisting of flexible parts that are connected in pairs at the ends to form a structure under tension. The result is a cybernetic system with inherent (potential) energy and a number of properties that make it more “morphological, more organic, more alive”.

The term “tensegrity” (a combination of “tensional” and ‘integrity’ meaning “unity through tension”) was coined by Buckminster Fuller. For Fuller, the principle of tensional equilibrium - when two or more forces working against each other in the system achieve a balance between their internal tensions and compression - was closely linked to the word synergy. It is not about the counteraction, but about the complementary actions, the principles of pushing and pulling, contracting, retracting, attracting and repelling.

For a closed system, it is necessary to have conceptually suitable basic elements (“primitives”) that already exhibit the properties of complementary actions: Tension and compression - or any other kind of complementary relationship. In cybernetics, such systems are said to have a built-in intelligence …

Borut Savski: "From here things become metaphorical, the principle can be transferred to other areas - for example to human thought and cognitive systems, which also seem to be a kind of ‘tension’. For the writer Carlos Castaneda, for example, this tensegrity principle refers to the ability to adapt one's own energy to the energy of others in a way that contributes to the wholeness of the community we form."