THE PIT
sound installation, wood, 225 x 200 x 50 cm, 2023
The pit reveals the life of the artist’s grandmother in the period between 2004 and 2022 in the form of an audio recording of her journal, in which she chronicled her daily activities on a farm in the village of Lubná u Poličky. Against the backdrop of a never-ending list of garden chores, outbuildings that need tending to, and events in the village, we perceive the burden of the routine activities and loneliness that are part of life in the countryside, and not only for older women. “The pit” is how Mrs. Hurychová refers to the place in the house where most of her activities take place, which the artist brings into the gallery in the form of a visual shortcut. The view of the courtyard through the “little gate” on the front porch is now replaced by a view of the busy Prague boulevard Národní třída, enhancing the contrast between these two worlds. The pit thus becomes a metaphor for the unavoidability of everyday life and for ways to, in the words of Mrs. Hurychová, “keep it from driving you nuts”.
text: Barbora Ciprová
Hay, Straw, Dump, Jindřich Chalupecký Society, Václav Špála Gallery, Prague, 28 March 2023 – 3 May 2023