Post written by Jake Condon
Hello again from Prague! Today I had a free afternoon, which I decided to spend taking a more in-depth look at some of the exhibits from the Quadrennial festival that had caught my eye during my previous two visits.
The first one I wanted to see more of was the student exhibition from Lebanon, titled Puzzles. The exhibit made of wooden planks and metal scraps ties closely into the topic the exhibit wants to examine: the explosion that occurred at the port of Beirut in 2020, the city many of the artists that contributed to the exhibit likely call home. There are small placards all around the exhibit, talking about the memories the artists had with various restaurants, clubs, and apartments that were destroyed by the blast. The stories are tied together by complex wirings and kinetic sculptures that visitors can interact with, often causing objects to bang against each other or crash into another part of the exhibit, meant to mimic the chaotic state that's been felt in the country in recent memory. This was, in my opinion, the most striking of the student exhibitions I've seen because of its emotional depth.
The next exhibit I found that interested me was The Bridge, the Romanian featured exhibit. Designed to foster genuine personal connections between people, the inside of the black box contained a plexiglass bridge surrounded by rainbow lights and manufactured rain, creating a striking environment meant to envelop those who went inside. Visitors were encouraged to enter on both ends of the exhibit to be forced to look at each other as they pass through in an effort to forge that connection with a complete stranger.
While I hate to end on a somber note, I think it would be wrong to not mention the exhibit from Ukraine. The entire exhibit is called The Garden of Living Things, and features a collection of pieces by various artists based mostly around the country's resilience to the Russian invasion that started 16 months ago. The piece I found most striking was Roots by Yulia Zaulychna, a pair of blood-stained boots with roots growing out from beneath. The premise of the piece is the growing connections that are forged by dire circumstances, and the growing resilience of the Ukrainian people through the war. From Zaulychna's description with the exhibit: "A strong connection gives us stability and strength. A chance to continue growing and living."
There are plenty of other (and generally more light-hearted) exhibits available to explore here, and I'm hoping other students can share some details about those with you in the days to come. I look forward to getting to talk about more of what we've seen once we're all home!
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