Our primary motivation for this summer was settling down in Maříž for two weeks in the form of an artistic residency. We perceived this residency as a possibility to follow up on the experiment we created in Summer 2019 and develop our collective work through mutual learning from each other. We find it particularly interesting to work with the motive of the “Social sculpture” as formulated by Joseph Beuys. It is a way of confronting ourselves with the condition of the environment through the very human scale considering that those "conditions can only change out of human creativity" (J. Beuys). The subject of such a work is the process of the social interaction among ourselves and with the residents - the previous generation.
RESIDENCY IN MAŘÍŽ
COLLECTIVE PROCESS
ARTISTIC RESEARCH
During the two-week residency, we were researching our surroundings geographically, culturally and historically: by going for a two-day expedition, walks across the border over to Fratres or a visit in Peppino’s garden and the Museum of Maříž. Inspired by our environment and especially the time of the Iron Curtain, we collectively developed the basic concept which was further evolving over the time. Everyone made up his own character within the fictional storyline, designing a costume and creating tools that would help us, as a tribe, to find the border during our planned performance. Individually we found our own approach to the collective aim and evaluated the final project in daily discussions. On the side, everyone tried his talent in pottery throwing and a whole other research project on the topic of clay and ceramics came up - as pottery is of a high relevance for Mariz and its traditions.
FROM LEŠTNICE TO FRATRES
The outcome of this year's experiment lied in its collective process and we brought it from Maříž to Fratres where it continued as a performance. On the 29. 8. 2020 it was shown according to the symposium 'The next generation - artists from either side' and exhibition. Both were initiated by Kulturbrücke e.V. as a try to present the next generation of artists from the nearby border surroundings of Fratres and Slavonice, connecting Czech and Austrian culture.
By performing the fictional storyline of a tribe searching its environment, we adopted a stance as the new generation of the Czech-Austrian cross-border cooperation. The performance resembled a re-enactment of our process during the residency including installation elements which we created as artefacts used in the performance.
Our performative walk from Leštnice to Fratres across Maříž, was live streamed to Museum Humnum Fratres, but presented as a video commented by two reporters, until the third wall broke with our arrival and the video turned into a live performance.
ALONG BURIED TRAILS
RESEARCHING
ENVIRONMENT
OUR
"Kasurgus, the universal translator has been documenting the tribe from another time as they traverse the Iron Curtain, in search of a safe passage through. As they excavate the debris from those lives ravaged by history, a fear of unleashed spirits holds the tribe back from crossing the boundary. Supported by the social fabric of the tribe, they now set off to carry their earthly heritage beyond untrodden grounds."
As a generation that no longer knows the border(s), we are researching our environment culturally and historically by taking the journey along the iron curtain - from Lešnice across the border to Fratres. This process is exhibited by its documentation; from virtuality into reality, live-stream/film to performance; methodologically mediating the virtual era that is shaping our generation.
We perform the act of bringing our culture from Maříž/Slavonice with its tradition of ceramic and the Summer School, created by the elder generation in the 90’s. In 2019, we revived this project in continuation through close intergenerational exchange, working with the motive of the ‘social sculpture’ as our aim.
Exhibiting the artefacts of the collective process and environment was the last action within the performance. The arrangement emerged spontaneously, while all characters took off their tools and parts of their costume, contributing those as well as collected or self made relicts/artefacts to the installation on the blanket placed in the middle of the room.
EXHIBITION
Františka Malasková, Gabriela Sojková,
Isabell Alexandra Meldner, Jack Laing Aiken,
Jan Vagaday, Julian Boháč ,
Lukas Maar, Nicolas Prokop,
Nima Emami, Philip Chemayel