Picture of artwork
Ceremonial Crop Burning, from the cycle Agro

Tomáš Klepoch’s Ceremonial Crop Burningis a part of a series of works created for the AGRO 4D symposium1 whose goal was to emphasise the losses on Slovak agriculture after 1989 when Slovak production was noticeably reduced as it has become much more economical to import food from abroad rather than grow it domestically. Ceremonial Crop Burning is a distinctive work, a large-format wooden die which the artist made using not just woodcarving tools, but also a chainsaw. He takes the function of a standard printing die, which is normally used produce a larger number of prints, and turns it into a self-contained piece of art. The used woodcut technique, its rawness, roughness and expressivity seem very suggestive and evoke something archaic and archetypal, referencing folk culture traditions. This interpretation is supported by the work’s depiction of standard peasant activities and rituals, like harvesting and crop picking. The title Ceremonial Crop Burning is contradicting as it opposes the ceremonial character of the original peasant tradition which would celebrate and give thanks for the year’s crop with parades and dances. Folk mythology would describe fire as having cleansing, healing and magical powers while also being a symbol of protection of the future crop and Earth’s fertility. The artist uses this archetypal imagery subversively. The notion of crop burning is something heretical even though the artist uses it to emphasise our current ecological andeconomical, political and social issues. On one hand, he points out the considerable overproduction and abundance within our society has an enormous impact on the environment, and on the other hand, he suggests that the regulation of agricultural markets and purposeful political manipulation with crop surpluses (while trying to achieve a balance in the global economy) puts local markets at a disadvantage. 

Tomáš Klepoch was born on July 22, 1981 in Bratislava. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, from 2005 to 2007 at the Studio of Free Printmaking (prof. Róbert Jančovič) at the Department of Printmaking and Other Media and from 2007 to 2011 at the Department of Visual Communication under doc. P. Choma. In 2008, he took a residency at the 4th Studio (prof. Ivan Csudai) at the Department of Painting at AFAD. His freelance work focuses on static images using mostly the media of printmaking and drawing, occasionally objects and site-specific installations. He usually incorporates the techniques of linocut and woodcut, while experimenting with various materials, printing and carving methods. Most of his works are large-scale prints or woodcuts, often left in their moulds. Klepoch’s themes utilise symbols and metaphors referring to local history, various myths and facts about Slovakia which he uses to express his attitude toward current social themes and issues plaguing the country. He also illustrates books for both children and adults. He authored the 100% Edition covers published by Absynt. In 2011, he received the Golden Apple Award at the Biennale of Illustrations in Bratislava for his illustrations for Rudolf Sloboda’s How I Have Become a Wise Man. In 2017, he has been successful in the Most Beautiful Slovak Book competition with his illustrations for Dinom-dánom by Tomáš Janovic. In 2018, together with Palo Čejka and Jan Čumlivski, they won the first place in the Bibliophilia and Author’s Books category in the Most Beautiful Czech Books competition for their book In the Sign of the Pentode. He works as an assistant professor at the Laboratory of Illustration at the Department of Printmaking and Other Media at AFAD. He lives and works in Bratislava.

—Barbora Kurek Geržová

Notes

1 The symposium took place at the 4D Gallery in Galanta, it was curated by Omar Mirza.

Bibliography

Kurek Geržová, Barbora: FOLK-LORE, Nitra Gallery, 2021.

Inventory No.: F 165
Artist:  Tomáš Klepoch
Title: Ceremonial Crop Burning, from the cycle Agro

Year: 2014
Technique: coloured woodcut 
Material: plywood
Dimensions: 170 × 117 cm
Signature: in back, bottom right: Tomáš Klepoch