Markéta Volková

 

Fragile Threads
HIDDEN UMPRUM
19. 2. / 4. 4. 2025

 

We are delighted to present another exhibition at HIDDEN UMPRUM, featuring students of Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.

 
 
 

In her work, Markéta Volková develops the theme of personal memory, which is gradually transformed into the testimony of a generation looking for a firm anchor from the uncertain nature of the present. Why do we long so much for an escape from everyday reality? An unclear present and future, whose abstract nature is rather constantly deepening, leads to considerable disillusionment... How can we keep our feet firmly on the ground? How to protect ourselves from the constant barrage of advertisements and algorithms that influence us without our direct knowledge? Is it enough to go on holiday every now and then or do we need to delve deeper?

We find ourselves in a space, perhaps below the surface of the sea, in which the imaginary barrier between reality and fantasy dissolves. The barrier may not be a mere divide, a clear boundary between the good and something that is already bad or unacceptable. It can be permeable, fragile, cracked, just like our feelings and perceptions of the world. The mermaids speak to us from an archetypal position - one devours its own tail, so referring to the ancient symbol of Uroboros, which represents the cyclical nature of all things, the constant repetition and layering. The other mermaid sniffs a "forbidden" psychedelic plant - and it is unclear what happens next. We don't know what our future holds; with the political situation of today, we may want to contemplate it less and less. It is right to be scared, but at the same time the desire for the unknown is all too tempting... One sniff and suddenly we are in another world, full of miraculous and colourful plants, a world where a mistake is not a mistake, where structures are not clear, where it is possible to breathe on water. Mermaids are a symbol of freedom, of newfound possibilities that are swallowed up by an anxious reality. It is challenging not to have anxieties about the present, which is characterized by the rule of multinational conglomerates and technological giants that are difficult to grasp concretely. It's hard to understand politics or public affairs, we don't really have much idea who has power over our lives then... Which ultimately leads us to escape into other realities and fantasy worlds, where it's safe. The intimate and personal becomes public, expressing one's anxiety can be an emancipatory gesture. The fantasy of the underwater world can be a profound statement about the world we live in.

In one of his essays published on his blog, Mark Fisher (under the pseudonym k-punk) wrote: "I describe my experiences with mental health difficulties not because I find them exceptional, it is quite the opposite. Rather, I want to argue that there are many forms of depression that are best dealt with not individually and "psychologically" but individually and politically. That is how we as a society should approach them." The sharing of feelings and openness in the intimate sphere is therefore something to be cultivated, something not to be ashamed of, something essential to nurturing our common future. Fragility is a serious value, we just need to learn to work with it and start using it in a way that leads to positive change. It's about how to translate the escape into the potential for change - how to think imaginatively while not just running away? How to spend the holiday productively, how not to shroud its moments in a fog of naive reminiscence, but rather to use it critically to make our daily functioning more sustainable?

Text: Helena Todorová

 
Markéta Volková's Instagram
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Jiří Petrbok, Kamil Princ