The exhibition Marché is a commentary on the situation in Ukraine where work — neither protected nor guaranteed by the state — often serves as a means to overcome a social reality defined by numerous barriers. In the process of seeking self-realization people try to discover ways to avoid submission to authority in order to preserve their freedom when values beyond money come into play. Such efforts — having hardly been diminished over what is an extended period of time within a context of global transition and crisis — require a certain level of creativity. The industry worker is obliged to produce systematically, constrained to automatisms that become evident as a result of monotonous activity and dependence on machines. The worker as a creative actor in society is not unlike an artist maneuvering between rules legislated by the powers that be, navigating a life/work balance that rarely exists as a delible line: life often becomes the subject of work and vice versa. Although Marché focuses its perspective narrowly, addressing the situation of Ukrainian industry workers traveling abroad for employment opportunities, it implies the broader implications of this situation as it can be observed in other countries, each with its particularities both within and without the realities of active hostile conflicts.

The event will be held in Czech and Slovak language, free admission.

Nataliya Ilchuk: Marché

23. 8. - 27. 10. 2023

Curators: Monika Szűcsová, Viktória Pardovičová

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