Dystopia or the near future? What if we woke up the next day from uneasy dreams and found ourselves transformed in our bed into an exotic insect which you could not yet control or define through other body functions. But you would see many changes and the only thing that could remain outdated would be your thoughts about yourself and your corporeality. The first solo exhibition by Tina Hrevušová called Unexpected Existence suggests that we are about to witness the hatchery of strange and new existences which we can either become or gradually come to terms with. There is no need to constantly evaluate and draw conclusions based on our reason.

Tina Hrevušová: Unexpected Extistence
9 February – 2 May, 2024
Curated by Tea Záchová
Pragovka Gallery / Entry. Prague

 
  The exhibition demonstrates a parable of a civilization which has tried to follow up on neglected sensual essences, that being emotions. During the gradual exposing and becoming in the exposition space, viewers can realize how wild their imagination can be. With the promise of certain hints of biochemical systems, constructing new corporeality, evoking artificial hatcheries, we may be reminded of many literary references to Aldous Huxley, The Handmaid's Tale series, or the post-apocalyptic H.C. Giger. What distinguishes her work, however, is her subtle sensitivity for acceptance and tolerance. In a very introverted way, she showcases that "being different" is not the same as being bad. She does not create dark wet corners, instead, she accelerates her work through bright colorfulness.
A strange constellation of her individual hybrid sculptures, sometimes specifically recalling something we have known for a long time, associated with the antiquity of ancient cultures or with emerging future civilizations which flow in our surreal minds. Using various materials, such as ceramics, glossy glazes, or textiles, she also theatrically chooses the eventual installation of the exhibition which can become a performance stage. Nevertheless, the soft and pastel colors remind us that we do not have to be afraid of these beings as they are, on the contrary, peaceful, but we just need to observe them more closely, let ourselves be hypnotized by them, and keep time for something which may discourage or threaten us at first glance. Via time, we can learn to look at novelty from a different friendlier angle and without judgment. Never mind the multitude of interpretations or the exact explanations here, as the mystery and sensitivity verify the moment when the viewer (if they engage) transforms their own existence, and with whom they want to meet at the exhibition space.
Tina Hrevušová (*1998) studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (UMPRUM) in Prague and is currently continuing her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts (AVU) in Prague. In her work, she moves through drawing and painting to sculpture and installations, combining these techniques with performance, where all the processes are linked and complement each other, morphing one into another. Using the tool of imagination, she tries to find new ways of experiencing and perceiving the world, concretising our interiority, she reminds us of ontological things, paradoxically those we forget in the boom of material society. It works with the deconstruction of human identity and the creation of a new one that renounces the human form, often focusing on specific emotions or metaphorically expressed psychological processes of the mind. She works in the manner of research through experience (many of her works must be seen in the context of her entire artistic practice) they build upon, respond to, construct and deconstruct each other. They are experiential and often ephemeral. She conceives of identity as a form of energy that has the property and task of unfolding and transforming. It combines the invisible with the blatantly obvious, the corporeal and uncomfortable with an endearing aesthetic. It takes inspiration from the life of non-human organisms, insects, the unconscious mind, dream language, anatomy, discomfort, or fear. She is interested in the spaces between language, trauma, monstrosity, and the imagination of otherness.

The project is implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Capital City of Prague, State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic and the Municipality of Prague 9.