Y: Haunted Realities I. (Monument)

Amidst the slow erosion of dreams of equality, progress and the end of planetary injustice, hunger, and suffering, we have to be frank: these are dark times. Adrift in the infinitely long twilight of modernity, we try not to lose face, to maintain our stance, to preserve at least a shred of dignity. Conformism, capitalism, corruption, apathy. We’re constantly trying to find words for the state of the surrounding world, but we, too, are drowning in the waters of powerlessness.

The art that interests us wants nothing less than to change the world. But isn’t that too great a task? How to confront a reality that is obsessed with power, pursued by the ghosts of trauma and failed revolutions, trapped in feelings of isolation, insufficiency, defencelessness, poverty? What lens will we choose for looking at such a world? And to what degree do we acknowledge our contribution to the world’s current trajectory?

Y: Haunted Realities creates a thematically linked diptych that plunges us into the putrid waters of contemporary capitalism. In the first event, Y: Haunted Realities I. (Monument), we again join forces with Bazaar Festival to present a large-scale performance by the Serbian artist Ivana Ivković titled Monument of Trust: THE ARENA.

IVANA IVKOVIĆ - MONUMENT OF TRUST: THE ARENA
The work of Ivana Ivković will be presented to audiences in the Czech Republic for the first time. In her delegated performances, the artist works exclusively with performers who identify as men. She uses flocks, crowds and groups of male bodies as a symbol of sensitivity and sensuality, thus overturning traditional, stereotypical gender roles and reflecting on the social prejudices and taboos emerging from the romantic image of man as soldier, dangerous criminal or hoodlum. Her work not only addresses the issue of masculinity but the relationship between the individual and the system.

Monument of Trust is a multi-part cycle dealing with corruption as a force that dilutes social structures, targeting mutual trust and thus directly dismantling interpersonal relationships. In the context of the current civil protests in Serbia (but also in Slovakia and Lithuania) and increasing radicalization in European societies, the project also asks how corruption and conformity transform our relationships and individuals’ capacity to trust one another, as well as the system itself. With this event, we draw attention to corruption as an all-pervasive symptom of hierarchies of power. Through it, we also wish to express our support for all those who have been taking to the streets in Serbia since November 2024.

LINE-UP
16:00 doors
16:00–21:00 Ivana Ivković: Monument of Trust - The Arena (performance) *
21:00–21:45 Ivana Jećmenica: Radical Hope of Disobedient Collective Body (discussion)

* it is possible to enter, leave and re-enter the performance space at any moment. The audience is invited to stay for as long as they wish

BAR
There won't be a bar available during the event. We will offer free water and tea and coffee for voluntary donation.

CURATORS Anna Chrtková & Petr Dlouhý
ARTIST Ivana Ivković
PERFORMERS Antonín Brinda • Đorđe Živadinović Grgur • Dominic "Hafner" Derrida • Fifi Pharaoinc • Honza Dibitanzl • Honza Kleiner • Imrich Pisarovič • Jakub Štrba • Jan Šolar • Jaro Viňarský • Josef Straka • Karol Filo • Kateř Tureček • Marco Antonio Lopez Marin • Marian Staffen • Marko Cerketa • Martin Fischer • Martin Maryška • Matěj Nytra • Matěj Pour • Matyáš Grimmich • Matyáš Hansel • Maxmilián Hruška • Michal Klodner • Mirek Buddha • Nikola Janković • Nikola Vranić • Ondřej "Peon" Krásný • Orin Rodriguez • Otto Kauppinen • Paul • Pavel Matela • Štěpán Kašuba • Tomáš "Grófka" Procházka • Tomáš Janypka • Viktor Zahrádka • Vladimír Hulec • Vojtěch Bárta
SOUND COMPOSITION Mads Bittmann
CONTEXT Ivana Jecmenica
PRODUCTION Lev Zlokazov, František Fabián, Kalen Phun
LIGHT DESIGN Félix Noslier
SOUND Magdalena Kiselá, Jan JezaX Burdych
STAGEHANDS Cyril Grečner, Jan Valter, Šimon Komárek, Zdeněk Kříž
GRAPHIC DESIGN Markéta Skalková
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Terezie Plíšťková, Amálie Bulandrová
PHOTOGRAPHY Ivan Zupanc, Nefeli Papaioannou
MEDIA PARTNERS ArtMap, Artalk, Taneční zóna
PARTNERSHIP Bazaar festival , art re use

CONTEXTUAL GUIDE