Erik Sikora: Laureate of Igor's Kalného Award

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Tomáš Moravec: Notes on Airships

For his current exhibition in Zlín, Tomáš Moravec chose one of his themes – the airship. This is symbolically reflected in his work Streamline (2017), featuring a fight of the main protagonist with the wind, which blows an unrolling silver strip into a distance of 245 meters – the length of the Hindenburg. A silver-like, twisted mass that reappears and vanishes in Greenscreen (2017) is, for a change, reminiscent of old photographs of crashed airships. In This Side Up (2017) we can observe the atmosphere of the Prague district of Holešovice from a helium balloon without being there in person.

All three video installations work with a view from above or at least try to achieve the desired perspective. By references to physical parameters of airships (dimensions, construction, color), Tomáš Moravec works with a certain historical experience which no one can undergo anymore, but at least can imagine it a bit. Thus the works take on more connotations and diversity through the individual perception of their viewer who becomes an explorer at any given moment.

Erik Sikora: Svišť / Rorýs / Swift

Erik Sikora in Zlín purposefully launches himself into the orbit of YouTube celebrities, becoming a star blogger. The viewer occurs in a room where he can listen to the artist’s songs from the YouTube channel and at the same time find themed souvenirs in the form of printed T-shirts. The artist responds immediately to his “fame” and works with its immediate effect by multiplying the “capital of attention”. Erik Sikora completely negates the fact that the exhibition takes place in the background by his Internet section where he deliberately plays with the juxtaposition of the physical and virtual, permanent and transient. Thus he becomes not only the main actor, but also an observer of evolving events.