THROUGH A BURNT LANDSCAPE / Helush Yiraq, Tereza Nováková / 2025
The most extensive forest fire in the modern history of the Czech Republic and Saxony in the summer of 2022 devastated more than 1060 ha of spruce forest affected by bark beetle in the area of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park.
The landscape of the burnt area shows us how far our initial idea is from reality. It has a new structure, aesthetics. It is a place of silence and free thought. A space turned inside out, a scene of things, new beginnings, fear and encouragement. The burnt area is a true metaphor for renewal, it is a memory inserted into the unconscious. The visual remnant is the new scenery, but also the speed of colonization by moss, herbs and especially birch or aspen, but also larch or pine. If we gain a relationship with the rock and the forest, it becomes close, personal. How does artistic imagination help us in our view of the formation of the landscape? What does deep concentration on the landscape and joint observation look like?
These and other questions are answered by artists who spent time here. In the form of drawings, paintings, performances, audiovisual works, photographs and installations, Eliška Dobnerová, Viktor Fuček, Jolana Havelková, Vladimír Havlík, Michal Kindernay, Petr Kubáč, Václav Mach, Pavel Matoušek, Vojtěch Nosek, Jan Prošek, Tomáš Roček, Tomáš Ruller, Miloš Šejn, Štěpánka Šimlová, Dagmar Šubrtová, Miloš Vojtěchovský, Helush Yiraq & Zden Brungot Svíteková (OSTRUŽINA), Martin Zetová bring different perspectives on the transformation of the landscape after the fire.
The project is organized by the Artbiom association, which is dedicated to spreading awareness about environmental art - http://artbiom.cz/
https://artycok.tv/cs/post/nova-perla-krajinou-spalenou
Photo Pavel Matela
THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE LANDSCAPE AFTER THE FIRE / Helush Yiraq, Tereza Nováková / 2024
The project Transformation of the landscape after the fire deals with artistic research in the area of the České Švýcarsko National Park affected by the fire, which lasts from 2023. In addition to four excursions for artists and interested parties, it took place in August 2024 in the House of České Švýcarsko in Krásná Lípa and in the multifunctional space Nová Perla in Kyjov near Krásná Lípa, a two-day exhibition of 11 new works inspired by this area and event, as well as two performances and a visit to the Pravčický důl with expert interpretation by the staff of the České Švýcarsko National Park Administration.
Thirty authors from the ranks of photographers and multimedia artists, draftsmen, sculptors, performers, who can explore the transformation of the landscape, singularities of nature or visuality not seen anywhere else, and other specific phenomena associated with fire over a longer period of time, confirms the necessity of cooperation between artistic and natural science fields and a common interest about presentation to the wider public.
Artists:
Antonín Brinda, Vladimír Havlík, Michal Klodner, Jiří Kovanda, Petr Kubáč, Dagmar Šubrtová Jitka Tomsová in collaboration with Michal Kindernay, Adam Vačkář, Helush Yiraq, Martin Zetová
Photo Helena Jiráková, Pavel Matela, Pavel Matoušek