I Do Not Understand, I Can See, I Know…
Asztrid Csatlós, Anton Čierny, Maximilián Rumanský, Alex Mlynárčik, Milan Vagač, Anthony Vasquez
The exhibition I Do Not Understand, I Can See, I Know… is inspired by the song Prague Producers Are Top (Pražský Producenti Jsou Top) by the Czech rapper, member of the group PSH and multimedia artist Vladimir 518. The 2008 song is winding, “takes its toll” and at points we get lost in it, only to come back. It deals with the theme of a rite of passage – in rapid succession of words we enter the forest, disappear into the cold, lose our way, but carry on nonetheless. Until we find the monk.
my journey through the winter forest is taking its toll
I pass a sign, a fork in the road, a flock of crows
the stake is foaming, the machine is burning
I ride by day, I fly by night
lyrics to the song Prague Producers Are Top (Pražský Producenti Jsou Top) by Vladimir 518
The forest as a place here is no accident, of course it is not just a backdrop. It represents the unknown in us. Fragility replaces solidity, joy replaces pain, and in these oppositional points we [also] move. But importantly, in this journey, we become someone else. In our culture, we have a similar tradition – čepčenie (covering the bride’s hair with a marital headdress), the story of a daughter becoming a woman.
The album from which the track comes from didn’t just bring respect to Vladimir 518, the Bigg Boss label also came into the spotlight. What is significant for this international group exhibition in the space a Window Kunsthalle Bratislava is this rite of passage, to be quite precise, a place of transformation that can result in light or cathartic relief. The same story awaits Kunsthalle Bratislava, at some point it will have to decide not only what it wants to be, but also what identity it harbours. Will we be able to understand her? Maybe just listening to each other will be enough…
Concept: 7 May 2024, Budapest
Final: 11 May 2024, BratislavaErik Vilím
1 Inspired by the book What Do You Want to Be? Artist? by Daniela Čarná and Lucie Kotvanová (2021), in hands: 7. 5. 2024
2 Inspired by Igor Hosnedel’s exhibition Belladonna Harvest, curated by Tjaša Pogačar, 2023, Kunsthalle Bratislava, a Window, the director: Jen Amann Kratochvil, in hands: 7. 5. 2024
