East Contemporary

Galerie Proluka: Rafani “Smer vetru” (Direction of the Wind)

Prague, April – June 2021, Bezručovy sady (park opposite of the address Slovenska 23), https://ctyridny.cz

Galerie Proluka is in fact a green lawn in a small city park, that is used for outdoor installations, and seems to be related to the yearly 4+4 dny v pohybu art and performance festival in Prague.

I saw the installation “Smer vetru” (Direction of the Wind) it in the end of May 2021 shortly before it was dismantled and replaced by a new installation in June 2021.

Rafani is a Czech artist Group that exists for some time already, these are mid-age artists. The installation consisted of three small platforms with a railing, oriented towards each other, creating a central space in between them. It was a sculpture that invited the passers by to use it and mount the little platforms. Once you mounted the platform, the environment changed. At the same time, if your friends mounted the other platforms, the bodies of everyone were naturally positioned facing each other, encouraging an oral action, or at least observation of the other platforms.

At the front side of the platform, flat cut out wooden boards were mounted, further stressing the directional nature of the platform. At the same time, these boards also reminded of the wind-directing constructions attached to some roofs or chimneys, suggesting in a metaphorical way that the interaction of the actors on the platforms is by no means only dependent on them, but may as well depend on external uncontrollable influences like the direction of the wind.

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