Forest Line

The exhibition project titled Forest Line presents nine contemporary visual artists and their works that reflect upon the mentioned changes. The exhibition features a wide spectrum of artistic media forms, from drawings and paintings to objects, site-specific installations and all the way to video and audio installations. 

The suggested beginning of the exhibition is toward the end of the ice age, approx. 10,000 B.C., as we learn from the works by Michal Machciník. This historical period is also the approximate beginning of the story of a certain forest in eastern Slovakia which is narrated in Denis Kozerawski and Peter Kašpar’s docu-fiction by the rapper Čavalenky. The film also reflects upon the current society and its position toward forests and nature. The extinction of certain plant species and the alarming state of nature are themes which have become the focus of a large-format painting/installation by Michal Czinege. Walks around her hometown forests, listening to nature and new hybrid forms of trees are some of the leitmotifs of works by Helen Tóth. Mutual exchange of information, the flow of life-giving force among natural species and the feeling that something is bigger than us are some of the themes the Finnish visual artist Maija Laurinen reflects upon and tries to bring them into the gallery space. Leaving the forest environment and moving closer to people’s homes, to agriculture and orcharding in current climate conditions, these are the topics presented by Martin Piaček’s works. An important part of our landscape is also water which penetrates into the soil and irrigates it. Martin Bízik’s work opens up themes related to soil and water pollution and water flow regulation in our region. At the end, Jozef Suchoža brings up the matters of our uncertain future along with some hope for rescuing forests in our country. The exhibition is not just a simple tale of a forest, it talks about exploring the landscape and vegetation, its ancient history, recent history and life and death which it is closely related to. It tries to educate visitors on matters of the protection of nature and brings up many questions on this topic that will matter in the future. It is a place for self-reflection and evaluation of our approach to natural environment. Forest Line is also a space of aesthetic experience with elements of playfulness, providing an opportunity to dive deep into the forest and into ourselves.