Is it still possible to find a comprehensible path in today’s chaotic world of images, perceptions, and words? Where is the truth and how far do the lies reach? The Ústí nad Labem Billboard Gallery continues its series of exhibitions called Manipulation of Image and Word, which encourages us to think about the perception of visual and written information around us. The second exhibition, Identity of Things, uses the space of two billboards to reflect on the phenomenon of discarded, but often functional furniture and home accessories near garbage cans. Although the interest in recycling is growing in our society, we still keep finding abandoned and no longer needed home appliances in the public space – furniture, books, paintings, flowers, and other interior decorations. They are waiting for a new owner and tend to disappear within a few hours. What is the identity of these things and what will be their future? Doesn’t our hectic time and the enormous growth of huge retail chains, which force us to constantly buy new products that only serve for a few years, contribute to this phenomenon? The trio of artists Lucie Hyšková, Petr Kubáč, and Alexandra Naušová decided to immortalize the staged, digitally modified interior in one of the exhibition areas. The chosen visual is typical of the catalogs of design furniture wholesalers. However, instead of the expected price for individual products, we will find the GPS coordinates of the location where the specific piece was found. The Identity of Things exhibition thus draws attention to the pressure of large companies which manipulatively attack our subconscious with the help of well-thought-out visual advertising. It repeatedly stores an increasing number of similar product images and short promotional slogans. We see them around us every day. You can’t miss them. Can we escape these pressures at all, or can we effectively defend ourselves and get out of the established consumption cycle?
The authors of the text are Michaela Buštová, Josefína Pleslová and Andrea Vaňourková
in collaboration with Lucií Hyškovou and Alexandrou Naušovou
2 x large format photos, 2020
