Anyone who wants to see her large-format photographs (in the form of three-dimensional objects, collages or light installations) hung in a non-traditional environment must first pass through the legendary Faust House, in which the devil is said to have taken Dr. Faust to Hell through a hole in the ceiling. Only then can he enter Jungr’s preserve.
“I have already exhibited in a similarly non-traditional space in the monastery in Rajhrad. Classic galleries seem to me to be limited by where you can hang what and what can be hung there. Here I am not limited by anything and can basically do whatever I want. And in addition, a special genius loci works in this space, in a depressing environment with green tiles, narrow corridors and flashing fluorescent lights. Finally, one enters the hall, which has spatial generosity. It measures eight meters in height, is illuminated, and the entire exhibition has a visual gradation,” she said.
The theme of her exhibition is the phenomenon of women, in all visual roles, social roles and aesthetic forms. In one of the halls, a larger-than-life-size black-and-white nude dominates the exhibition space. He stands on tiptoe and his back is turned. A stream of light falls on the work from the upper windows, so that it symbolically covers the nudity of the lady with an imaginary veil.
The author used the lighting conditions in such a way that the changing daylight gives the pictures hung in the space a different spatio-temporal context each time. When the southern side of one of the halls has a crimson red sky, a large-format portrait of a girl with big eyes will blush.
“We will gradually supplement the individual works. A visitor who comes tomorrow will see slightly different photos than someone who comes in October. We are also planning other accompanying events, such as workshops, video projections, and we also launched my new book at the opening,” added the author.
Photo: Jan Šída, Law
Elizabeth Jungrová
Wires and rusty pipes
The fact that Jungrová does not name her works gives everyone the space to process them in their own head and find their own aesthetic and emotional explanation. In addition, some exhibited works enter into a surprising context with the original equipment of the laundry. Between the two paintings, from which two sullen ladies look on, an electrical wiring glistens, from which a thick green wire crawls along the wall.
Elsewhere, two paintings lie by the floor, beautifully framed and brightly colored. A piece of rusted pipe with a vent wheel splattered with white paint sticks out next to them. When we step back, we get the impression that these things form an aesthetic whole.
“I started working a lot with different materials. I discovered that I can enhance the emotion of the photo with various backgrounds. For example, when I print an image on fabric, it blends in with the surrounding environment. That’s why I decided to follow this artistic path,” explained the artist.
This fact is especially evident in illuminated artifacts suspended above the ground. The blurred portrait of the girl, behind which her alter ego appears, is momentarily red, then poisonous green, and finally ends in a bluish-purple haze. She is the same girl, yet we perceive her to be different every time.
The exhibition is called I believe. What does photographer Alžběta Jungrová actually believe in? “I believe that everything is in our heads. The only real thing is what we really feel. The rest is only a subjective view of the matter, which, moreover, can be completely different for each person,” he concludes.
Photo: Jan Šída, Law
