For Flash Art Magazine 2024
The artists Kordačová and Večeřová originally hail from the Czech Republic, but have bee living for many years in southern and northern England. As a consequence, the exhibition which we now have the opportunity to view in the FOR MAAT gallery in a certain manne reflects the broader international context of contemporary tendencies in fine art. On first impression these two “immigrants” (as the curator also refers to them in the text) make use of a specific, highly visual aesthetic that evokes a theatre stage or fashionable interpretation with an emphasis on the theme of nature and mysticism. This complex installation operates as a single compact work, which excels within the industrial premises of the gallery. The poetic reading of the exhibition is effectively completed by the dual projection of the performance Arietis Sisters and The Sun, located on the English coast. The videos themselves are filmed professionally with elegant editing, and record a ritual of several figures accompanying the singing. The artefacts and costumes visible in the video are composed in a spatial installation. Another interesting element is the projection onto stretched fabric. The fabric as a material is a dominant feature throughout the entire work, not only in the form of the striking costumes, but also as a base for the printing of photographs in which the artists themselves are draped in seaweed and fabrics used for the production of fishing clothing. A fabric in the form of a theatre curtain appears in front of a wall on which the lyrics of the song that can be heard in the gallery are written by hand. The song itself is an English version of the Slovak song “Na jarný veselý čas” (To the Joyful Springtime), about the movement of the sun through the heavens.
The concept the artists present here is highly topical, combining the theme of ecology with a hint of feminism and the trend of referring to the traditions and rituals that circulate through our society in various forms and with various meanings, while in the Slovak and Czech contexts these traditions have a specific folk flavour. However, the exhibition has an almost spiritual form of older rituals combined with the festival of Candlemas – the anticipation of spring, which is also a part of our local traditions. This project follows on from the joint residence of the artists that took place on 2 February. The individual parts of the works are intentionally linked precisely with the theme of the natural cycle of nature in time, the movement of the earth around the sun, the ebb and flow of the tides under the influence of the moon and the seasons of the year, focusing on welcoming and honouring spring as a symbol of nature’s awakening from its winter slumber.
Photo: Jana Gombikova
Production: Dusan Chrastina
