Wake Up slowly, Butterfly
The sculptures of Barbora Volfova and Edita Štrajtova give an impression
of lightness and fragility — in contradiction to the qualities typically associated with the materials of which they are made. Large steel constructions seem to be spun into existencerather than welded, or rather drawn inside the space itself, freehand. The focus on the space is not coincidental: for Štrajtova and Volfova it doesn’t only function as a background, but is also divided into narrative zones setting a stage for certain emotions and experiences. The installation Wake Up Slowly, Butterfly, from which the exhibited sculptures originate, deals with themes of hideout and safe space. Citing Kafka’s short story “The Burrow” as inspiration, the artists imagine the viewer as an introspective protagonist, an inhabitant of a sanctuary opposing the hostility of the world. At the same time, the hideout is flawed, acting as a cage as well as a shelter. The only option to exist is in the acceptance of vulnerability, in an intermediate state between the inside and the outside.
Text by Nika Kupyrova & Michal Stolárik
(text was created for the group show THE SOMNABULISTS)
In collaboration with Edita Štrajtová, 2021
Soundscape performance by one and only Koruth
with candles by Hadaikum
Performance photos by Michal Králíček
Installation view of the exhibition by Max Vajt
When the escalator was rising,
our eyes leveled with the second floor
for just a while;
we could see through the walls
- could get closer
it was like to sit on a tulip
bed and realize the
violence of our own
nostalgia.
photos by Max Vajt, Michal Králíček