Myth Game
11. 12. 2021 - 23. 1. 2022
The works of sculptor Pavlína Kvita (1988) and painter Jakub Tytykalo (1984) lie somewhere on the border between the archeology of deep memories and adventurous computer strategies. They are traditional and contemporary at the same time. Associative and dynamic. They have their depth but also their lightness. Despite being anchored in reality, their form-intolerance prevents precision. In essence, they are comments or references rather than, in the true sense of the word, imitations. They capture fragments, hints of characters, or scenes ripped from stories or dreams that we cannot completely decipher, even though we suspect that they concern us. Maybe that's why their appeal is cursed, and why they attract attention. Their magnetism - among other things - also lies in their awareness that they compulsively remind us of something. This something may not be directly related to objectivity, it may be far more about the feeling or the categories of collective experiences, unconscious sacredness, and the ritual patterns transmitted by genetics.
The encyclopedia of literary genres characterizes myth as a symbolic narrative expressing faith in the fullness and integrity of timeless order. Mythical stories do not communicate detailed individual information, such as when we talk about what happened to us, but present model images that create the impression of a deeper understanding of the world. This understanding can be applied retrospectively, as social or psychological schemes that influence behaviors and the relationship to the acceptance of the universe and its hidden laws. They connect the earthly and the transcendent realms. Past is tied to the present and together they form a circle. This mutually conditioned system is imprinted in the cycle of daily rhythms through the actions of individual people and thus directly affects the future. Although over the centuries and under the influence of ever-changing civilizations and cultural conditions, old specimens are gradually losing their ancient context and often even fall into oblivion. Passing them on from generation to generation, however distorted, keeps them alive- in other words, in the game.
The game is usually defined as an activity that lies within itself. It is used for fun and is short-lived, but it often has another dimension, such as an educational one. It can also happen on different levels. In a literal sense, projected into the field of interpersonal relationships, it is usually perceived as a kind of purposeful manipulative activity, which is to either provide some advantage or profit - in a word, win, or just satisfy the feeling of being able to control and induce conditions entirely with free will. The ability to control what is going on and where it will lead. The game can be based on the acceptance of a certain role, but also the rules and the gameplay, which is not entirely predictable for the participant. It is therefore superior and it does not matter whether it is embodied by dice, an algorithm, or something like God.
In their work, both authors intuitively combine these two phenomena but do not try to find them in balance. Sometimes this has the upper hand, other times that. Their works are, of course, based mainly on personal mythology in the sense that it's their own experiences, emotions, and priorities, from their own lives which shape it. Sometimes the focus is on a specific moment, other times it may be a shared paradox of everyday life, such as the Internet, or it may involve major life events, such as the birth of a child or the loss of a loved one. Although it may be a unique matter, there are also the universal ones, tied to our "here and now" and the individual stages of human life, through which the subjective turns into an objective, ie shared by all.
In neither case are descriptive artifacts the result. Pavlína Kvita focuses on the abstraction of the natural organic form, which, on one hand, is a reduction to the symbolic nature, and on the other hand there remains a connection with the time of origin and use in art history. Similarly, Jakub Tytykalo, arranges imaginary scenes into a vague or only slightly indicated space, filled with various attributes of today's fluid existence and intertwining relationships. Both artists compliment each other perfectly. Pavlína Kvita applies the optical qualities of her artifacts, whereas Jakub Tytykalo has an almost sculptural construction of the pictorial composition. Mutual visual fusion builds not only on the content but also on the formal parameters of the work. The resulting joint exhibition can be conceived as a compact installation that speaks a familiar language, but also has something original, archaic, incommunicable, and magical - all carried by art from the beginning.
text: Radek Wohlmuth
