Deer and Wolves, Sculptural mini-symposium in the landscape

 

The first sculptural symposium in the Orlické Mountains, featuring artists Dagmar Šubrtová, Richard Wiesner, Tereza Severová, Krištof Kintera, and Lukáš Procházka.

Dagmar Šubrtová – Dead Tree
When we look at trees, we perceive the density and color of their foliage, their size, spacing, species, age, the shade of their canopy, and how they shape the memory of a place. However, it often happens that trees are planted where they merely remain rather than truly thrive—obscuring parts of buildings or being placed on elevated sites without regard for access to groundwater. Some trees, especially those in urban environments, require sufficient space for growth and stability, particularly during summer droughts or under extreme conditions. In most cases, it is enough to care for a mature tree regularly and, during the dormant season, reduce its center of gravity, rather than resorting later to felling it for regulatory convenience. Many trees are disappearing due to insensitive interventions—trees that could have been preserved for future generations, not only human, but also for birds and insects.

Richard Wiesner – Twentyseven
The title of the object also represents a group of individual EU member states. These states are represented here through Czech translations of their national anthems, which form part of the installation. Wiesner thus creates a contrast between the EU’s effort to unify its member countries and the content of the individual national anthems. While the EU motto “Unity in Diversity” expresses the idea of bringing together diverse cultures and nations, national anthems, by contrast, often emphasize the need for individual states to protect and defend their territory as an inviolable space. In this way, Wiesner highlights the tension between the ideal of European unity and deeply rooted national sentiment, which frequently focuses on sovereignty and defense against external threats.

Tereza Severová – Cloud
In her work, Tereza Severová explores the interpretation of landscape and its symbolism within the context of contemporary visual culture. Her flag, printed with an image of a cloud fluttering in the wind above the panorama of the Orlické Mountains, confronts natural and artificially constructed images. This cloud, while evoking a natural phenomenon, also recalls warning signals and technological tools used to monitor and measure the environment. Through this work, Severová points to the tension between the authenticity of the natural landscape and the artificially generated images that surround us. By means of this confrontation, she invites us to reflect on how modern technologies are transforming our perception and understanding of the world around us.

Krištof Kintera v díle „Paradise Now“ It presents urban barriers bearing antlers, as if they were transforming into deer. This imaginative contrast between industrial, austere structures and the natural symbol of the forest creates a peculiar connection between the urban environment and nature. Barriers, typically intended to regulate the movement of people, are transformed in Kintera’s work into hybrid beings that suggest a possible escape or transition between these two worlds. 

Lukáš Procházka - HELP
The word Help is composed of collected pieces of wood that have washed up from the river. This wood quietly tells the story of its journey from one place to another. The sign appears as if it were assembled by a castaway trying to be rescued from a deserted island, intended to attract the attention of passing pilots. In this case, however, the sign is situated within an accelerated metropolitan environment, referencing the cultivated nature of the surroundings, while the pilots are replaced by people living in nearby apartments. The work reflects the paradoxical nature of big cities, where there is a high concentration of people, yet one can easily find oneself in a state of solitude or in a kind of liminal space. It is a space between the familiar and the completely unknown, where one leaves behind an old life while a new one has not yet emerged. Loneliness—partly social isolation, partly a subjective experience of one’s own survival—has become an increasingly prevalent condition. The pandemic and enforced isolation have only contributed to this phenomenon.