Shared Freon
Solo Offspace
Brno, Czech Republic
curator: Tomáš Plachký
2020
Feel welcome to introduce us to the project that you‘ve decided to exhibit in the Solo Offspace Gallery?
Freezers and refrigerators were artifacts that fascinated me. I've been working on construction sites during the summer,
where I’ve been tasked with excavation work alongside with Roma and Ukrainian workers. Visiting the supermarket has
been my frequent daily ritual before my shits started as well as after they ended. I enjoyed spending my time in the cold
section where refrigerators and freezers were situated. I felt relieved there during the unbearable heat. This was the most
positive moment during that whole hot working day. I noticed feelings of relief in other people that were gathering with me in
the same area. This cold space connected us all as we experienced a collective feeling of relief from the heat.
The topic is based on your personal experience of working on the construction sites. Was your intention to start
working there in order to draw inspiration for your work? Or was it just a source of income to you?
At the time, I simply needed to make money and working on getting a job on a construction site was an ideal solution for me.
My goal was not searching for an inspiration for my art work. I also didn't want to focus on the stories of workers who are
working there and struggling. I would not identify myself with that kind of work, because it would mean I was pursuing
something like „safari“ or exotification of workers. At the end I’ve discovered a topic that was an integral part of me and
I’ve discovered it thanks to the work on the construction site.
Some of the materials used in the work you are exhibiting here include old Tetra Pak. Have you ever considered
it’s connection with recycling or ecology? Can you tell us more about the materials you use?
I originally wanted to work with a drypoint. I couldn't afford large-format sheets back then, therefore Tetra Pak seemed like
the best low-cost solution to me. Later I’ve noticed how Tetra Pak is very much related to the topics of refrigerators and freezers.
This is how I‘ve decided to make large-format paintings on foil. Aluminum foil is a symbol of cold and frost for me. It also bears
the message of the packaging which can be kept in the refrigerator. I don't think that the foil or Tetra Pak I’m using in my work
have any relations to ecology.
Does the emptiness of freezers and refrigerators criticize society’s commercial mindset or are you using them
in order to intensify the subject of your interest?
Empty refrigerators and freezers are the sole purpose as they are. Thanks to that, I get to the point that they matter as devices.
If the freezers and refrigerators were full, I don't think the viewer would be able to see what I’m trying to say. It would unnecessarily
distract them from the main topic.
Why did you decide to work on this topic in the form of painting / drawing and did not use other mediums instead?
Because I think painting comes as an ideal medium for my work with a material. I often work with difficult material
in which I insert certain links or feelings.
