The thematic starting point for the exhibition with the working title Les (Im) mattériaux? is a virus as a multifaceted phenomenon.
We perceive a virus or a virus as a complex topic that is currently very topical - whether it is a biological virus threatening human health or an artificial virus in computer security (technology). Both types of virus, not only at present, significantly affect society and human lives. What unites them above all is the degree of threat caused by their (apparent) "invisibility" and at the same time invasiveness, and thus the possibility of unobserved spread and infection of a large number of individuals on a global scale.
These starting points make the virus not only a security, health or social issue, but also a philosophical or artistic problem, and raise a number of questions:
artificially created technological virus vs. biological virus and their mutual permeability
virus as a manifestation of posthumanist tendencies
virus as art and art as virus
virus as an algorithm
virus as a product of artificial (or biological) intelligence
virtual and physical virus as a manifestation of globalization
virus as a metaphor
virus as an investigative detective
virus as a technical problem
performativity of the virus
….
keywords: #invisibility, #danger, #attention, #reaction, #invasiveness, #inability to understand what is happening; #abstinence, #adaptability, #care, #anosognosia
The subject of the exhibition is not primarily the grasp of the virus in its literality (biological analysis, visualization of the anatomy of the virus), but the presentation of broader topics that the existence of the virus as a posthumanist autonomous unit evokes in contemporary society.
The goal is to show visitors that viruses have been, are and always will be a part of our lives. And also to demonstrate a bit that even a virus can be an art.
In accordance with the definition of the Rhizome server , as art that acts on the Internet or is affected by the Internet. We are therefore looking not only for works that critically approach the Internet as an art medium, but also those that use its informal practices such as selfies or Twitter poems.
GALLERY XY - a space for contemporary art
Gallery XY was established on the initiative of Olomouc independent galleries, which since 2015 have been jointly implementing an event called XY: exhibitions with a walk, a walk through the openings. The gallery is located in the newly established cultural center on Dolní náměstí in the center of Olomouc. The main coordinator is Monika Beková, who has so far managed Gallery W7 in the original headquarters of the Cucky Theater. The cooperating curators are representatives of the independent regional gallery scene - Vitrína Deniska, Galerie Monitor and HROB. More about the gallery.
In 2020, Galerie XY will begin its fourth year of operation on Dolní náměstí in Olomouc.
The aim of the XY Gallery is primarily the presentation of quality contemporary art from the Czech and international scene in a regional town of 100,000, under the auspices of a team of curators with many years of experience. Their joint dramaturgical strategy emphasizes the presentation of current events on the art scene in various areas of the Czech Republic and selected, especially Central European countries. It focuses on the careful preparation of selected exhibition projects supplemented by an accompanying program
It pays attention to the balanced representation of media that are lagging behind in the operation of local galleries and museums (new media, video art, architecture).
The XY Gallery allows the use of two separate and curatorially profiled spaces, while the duration of individual exhibitions is in the range of 5-7 weeks. The year-round exhibition program is supplemented by an accompanying program in the form of an intervention in a public space.
