MARTIN KOHOUT, GALLERY ENTRANCE, PRAGUE
Last year's winner of the "Other Visions 008" competition, Martin Kohout (Pash*), exhibits in the gallery Entrance in Prague until 18th October 2009. The exhibition's title is the Directionless Motion.
Short English titles of Martin Kohout's work, Close-Up, Away, No Place, evoke imaginary direction within the motion in space. Disturbances or any possible restrictions rising from iconicity of these titles are interpreted through borrowed motives from interior works of our society (or through simple technical reference to the illustration of a mistake). Every single picture of the exhibition observes forgotten or revived sensation. Two works have a form of large-scale projections; still lives of geometrical objects as well as construction of the projection screens themselves are important parts of the pieces. The third work, a small pile of gradually disappearing postcards, is a literal message placed on a shelf. Transformation of the viewer's direction of movement takes place on the background of familiar or generally known scenes. The moment of double-experienced scenes or seen images is accented by repetition of a screened loop, multiplication of serially printed postcards or just by blue projection, signalizing the loss of picture or its possible transformation on the level of keying. (...) Indefiniteness of direction and contradictory movements within the pictures symbolize the clash that may lead up to physical sense of loss. Conflict of movements within the pictures as well as on the viewer's own path is the main motive of the exhibition. Certain bleakness rises from the repetition as well as from the displayed images that refer to concrete heroes, their stories, unfulfilled desires or confrontation with the viewer himself. All the three pictures are based on decomposition of an experience, resulting from manifold reading of a book, watching a film or evocating some situation. The exhibition's theme is some sort of an upsetting message that is not always understandable at first glance.
