Situation #7

Erik Janeček & Andrej Žabkay

A situation on the riverside unfolds from the abstract shape of a monument near the Slovak National Museum, which evokes the limb of a cumbersome prehistoric animal whose claws have been sawn off. With claws, perceived as a symbol of power, the situation addresses the question of freedom, its fragile being and its unclear future, and draws attention to the political manoeuvres of the present day. Who is it that is once again thrusting out a powerful claw; who is treading with heavy feet on somebody’s territory? Should we not by now be looking at manifestations of power as something prehistoric, preserved and situated in the diorama of a museum? The present day, however, offers another, more disturbing view of doings in the world. The problem which the situation collides with is more than topical, it is acute. For a considerable time the artists have been participants in the APART association, organising short-term, ephemeral actions in public space, which they call Situations. Situation #7 will happen on June 14, at Fajnorovo nábrežie, by the Slovak National Museum. 

BIO:

Erik Janeček (b. 1990) currently is a 5th year Masters Degree student in the Department of Intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, in the studio of Ilona Németh, at present with guest teacher Erik Binder. In his work he uses the media of video, photography and text, and the possibilities of spatial realisations. Andrej Žabkay (b. 1987) at present is a Masters student in the Department of Intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, in Ilona Németh’s studio, currently with guest teacher Erik Binder. He completed his baccalaureate at the Department of Photography and New Media in the Studio of the Laboratory of Photography headed by Ľubo Stacho. Currently he is engaged in photography and spatial objects.