Johana Střížková has made a new video essay and a series of small objects for the exhibition of the finalists of JCHA. In both cases, she presents fragments of a potentially larger whole, or even a story. The short film with cinematic shots captures the “occupants” of an unknown apartment who silently perform activities bordering on purposeless pastimes and melancholy, even surreal rituals. The camera examines the details of their bodies, as if it wanted to touch them. In the videos by Johana Střížková, these tactile associations are mediated by bodily interaction with the surrounding environment and objects it includes. The installation in front of the black box brings the film motives to a material dimension. It consists of button-shaped candies of two colors whose pigment has “trickled down” to the pad and revealed the inner sugar crust. The chosen color scheme corresponds to the abstract “image” at the end of the film that can remind of film backgrounds as well as a minimalist landscape. The little candies bring back memories of childhood, however, their decolorized look can also be perceived as a metaphorical revealing of a substance and a common foundation. With great sensitivity, Střížková combines an almost naive playfulness and absurdity, which can lead to existential reflections on the meaning of human activities, interpersonal relationships and our place in the world.
