Optical stories from distant lands
Radovan Cerevka Exhibition in Halle14, Leipzig
The title of the residential project is related to the characteristic feature of all the works presented.
This is the selected story or topic related to the remote depressed area (Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria ..) and images taken from the media (Infograph, text, photos and videos from YouTube) which are then included in the new optical – entertaining presentation. This is not a comprehensive exhibition project but rather a collection of thematically linked autonomous works using similar strategies.
Installation named Kaleidoscope of news is directly related to the Info-export project.
I asked a Slovak member of ISAF troops serving in Afghanistan to hand over my gift to any local inhabitant. It was a hand-made kaleidoscope filled with lots of info graphics on Afghanistan. It is the sort of gesture of demonstrating emblematic coverage on Afghanistan, which I can see in the usual dominant media as a Central European citizen. (Except of alternative communication channels such as blogs, NGOs, etc.)
A particular Afghan thus received a compressed kaleidoscopic view of the area in which he lives. Kaleidoscope itself is a metaphor for the deconstructed – a fragmented prism view of the fact conveyed by media. Consequently, a memorable photograph was made from these informal peace meetings between the two parties (the ISAF soldiers and the Afghan citizen) where the Afghan’s identity had to be kept secret for safety reasons.
The installation presented in Halle 14 (Hall 14) itself is a monumentalized version of the gift kaleidoscope. It more resembles fortified nests of a news consumer.
Playing Practice Stories uses a simple “technology” of a 19 century antiquity – optical toy of praxinoscope. This first cinematic apparatus working on the principle of stroboscopic projection depicted a series of images which were reflected from mirrors on the wall with the help of the light and revolving motion.
This device became popular with wealthy families as a home cinematic entertainment format – spinning Ballerina, running horse…
In Playing Practice Stories, the homemade praxinoscope features as a means of playing short videos from YouTube. This is a short video of dramatic moments from various depressed areas. They were then applied to a variety of LP records so that they limited their playing time to one or two songs. This resulted in a unique series of videos where the original images and sounds are linked not only in content but they also limit their mutual function.
This regressive approach, coming back as far as to the beginning of the movie in connection with the mini stories from the current war conflicts, based on revolving around the plot, simulates a kind of endless historical cycle – a vicious circle.
Science colonization is one of my works on paper with the theme of News media visuality. In this case, I have gathered a collection of info graphics from various sources that account (and often in a very similar way) to the lay audiences on complicated technologies serving for exploration or even “conquest” of space.
I created landscape scenery full of monstrous plants and mysterious objects where I applied a wide collection of cosmic space info graphics in form of collage.
Guest Jana Duchoňová: Souvenirs of the new colonies
Installation of tourist souvenirs refers to the clash of civilizations. Painted plates are likely to promote alleged or fictitious conspiracy theories implying a potential change of global political order.
I have marked possible intersections, and modern conflicts as well as economic colonization. Some of them are based on facts and various prognostic scenarios; the others are ironically trying to undermine a well-established convention only.
(text Radovan Cerevka)