Martin Zetová & Jan Krtička
2 0 1 9 8: Presence curated by Adéla Máchová explores how our lived experiences are recorded and subsequently remembered. The work engages with Zetová's documented performance, Easy Marchers – Czech Collection of the 20th Century, which took place in Prague on 20 January 1998. The performance features blurred imagery of artists in lion masks parading with portraits of Czech monarchs and presidents, all set against a backdrop of public indifference. This imagery serves as a metaphor for the fragility and complexity of memory.
Krtička's interactive sound installation, I Don't Remember Much About It... (2025), builds on this exploration by transforming the memories of participating "lion cubs" into a dynamic composition. Viewers can tune this composition like radio frequencies, where personal testimonies weave together with current news and pop songs. Together, these projects examine how individual recollections are continually reframed by accessible references, codes, and media realities, turning the act of remembrance into an active and collective process.
Artists’ and Curator Bios
Martin Zet (b. 1959) is an artist working across events, installations, video, and photography; trained in sculpture, his processual and performative practice probes memory, identity, and social stereotypes. He received the Umělec má cenu award (2013) and led the Video Studio at Brno University of Technology (2010–2016).
Jan Krtička (b. 1979) creates intermedia and sound installations that activate viewers, focusing on collective storytelling and memory while balancing concept and spontaneity. He studied sculpture under Jan Ambrůz and co-leads the Studio of Natural Materials at UJEP.
Adéla Machová (b. 1984) is a curator and cultural manager teaching at UJEP, focused on contemporary visual art—spatial works, new media, objects, and photography. Since 2017, she has curated mainly solo shows at the Ústí nad Labem House of Arts and edited the 2024 book Space for.
Partners
2019-8: Presence is organised by Lidice Art Collection and the Faculty of Art and Design, University Jana Evangelisty Purkyně, Ústí n. Labem.