curated by Tereza Sochorová Horáková
We could speak, put words together and thus get closer to the beginnings of a conversation. To say: a woman, a man, a woman, a snake, water, paper, a word, a house, a word, a seed, an image. We enter into a labyrinth, a world where every corner uncovers new correlations, all of them connected only in the final revision. The installation should remind one of the sort of thematically arranged museum, in which we, without its being described to us, understand the arena in which we find ourselves. The subject matter consists of a responsible educational mapping of the professions of a biologist, a farmer, a surveyor, a builder, a poet, an analyst, a filmmaker or a basket-maker. This straddling of differing media is typical for both authors.
With both artists, we can follow a strong inclination toward media and its material, all-encompassing content sitting atop. The authors’ dialog arose from their mutual interest in privacy. In this way, Marie could dust off and bring up Ondřej’s notes about his daily experiences, and also be able to find in herself similar passions. The installation considered as a whole, without regard to its thematic parts, as an intwined “thread of Ariadne” as a symbolic snake, referring to the humanity’s “original sin”, a repetition of birth and growth through the molting of old skin, and certain loneliness. This is more evident in Maria’s work.
For example, in the installation with the working title “Structure”, there is placed a large-format watercolor with several self portraits arranged one after another and a knitted house, while in “Scores” a ballpoint pen drawing is developed on a found scroll of paper. There you can also find Ondrej’s film scores, such as those for the film “Šepsování plátna”, or for an unproduced film called “Television”.
“Findings” forms another connection between the authors. Both make use of recycling as a working method, and so there are new meanings and variations arising from things that are considered waste. From chaotic orderings and aestheticized presentation, the objects start to remind us of something else. A fragment of a cardboard box can bring to life a small Pantheon, or a piece of dried glue projects into a giant seed. This process is synonymous with a hinting at life. It is the possibility of writing a homemade haiku, and the joy of the everyday surprise. This requires a cooperation of the active perceptions of our environment, and the influence of the experiences that both authors have had, for example, in musical ensembles.
Tereza Sochorová Horáková
