Information
Artists
Ingrid Kepková, Viera Zubalová
Curator
Václav Janoščík (CZ)
Opening
19 September 2019, 6:30pm
Duration
20 September – 3 November 2019
Venue
the Bunker
Download
Hygge is a Scandinavian word for a mood of cosiness and well-being. It includes all the little things that make you feel good and comfortable. Whether it is reading a book tucked in a blanket, a cup of your favourite coffee or dinner with friends. In the recent years, “hygge” has become a phenomenon that makes cosy many other homes besides the Scandinavian ones. Hygge has become a definition of the Danish culture and lifestyle. In simple terms, it is a way of living well, peacefully and comfortably.
Wikipedia, entry: Hygge
https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygge [translated]
Ingrid Kepková and Viera Zubalová work together in order to address the latest problems of our inti-macy and our ability to lead (un)successful lives. They are not afraid to confront themselves with any-thing; they are not afraid to be unhappy. The project is a loose continuation of their previous works. The original idea is based on the term Uncanny Valley and its broader application on our current/post-internet times.
The exhibition consists of an environment enriched with multimedia records of people’s daily lives. A video footage and photographs confronted with the Instagram community, with Instagram represent-ing a place with the largest amount of Uncanny phenomena which are taken out of their context and planted into the artist-designed, unsettling environment. Their research aims to confirm the HYGGE phenomenon cannot be applied in real life and that it is natural for human beings to be uneasy as they keep finding themselves in situations they are not familiar with. A basic principle of life is movement, instability. Progress can only be achieved when society is forced to face challenges. Hygge is tricking ourselves into thinking that everything is okay. Hygge is stagnation. Antihygge delivers an authentic state of our society that is not afraid to admit that negative perceptions are normal. The utopian claim there actually is such thing as absolute hygge is the most Uncanny one. A goal of the project is to build and present an ANTIHYGGE manifesto.
The artists Ingrid Kepková and Viera Zubalová graduated from the Studio of Printmaking and Exper-imental Art (led by prof. PhDr. Peter Rónai, akad. mal.) at the Faculty of Arts at the Technical Univer-sity of Košice. They focus on themes related to post-internet, virtual simulation, meme theory, artificial intelligence, reality vs. social media, digital aesthetics, modern mythology, post-structuralism. They work both together and individually.
