You and I
Two figures are moving through a landscape. Only that it might not be a landscape. Their bodies are touching. How many of them are there, though?
It’s hard to say what constitutes a body. They are Mauve, Jim and John. They are conversing and wind floats between their branches and ruffles their hair. Where do we draw the line between human and non-human? Or even something other? Something which is not other whatsoever, because it is on its own, without perceiving the notion of otherness at all?
Paul Maheke’s first exhibition in Slovakia gravitates around topics of interdependency. Maheke stages circumstances formulated by the physical presence of objects, shapes, lines, forms, sounds, images and imaginations, or silly little animal figures.
All of them build a resonating tension, interacting with each other, shifting attention from one to the other; drawing you in and out. Offering solace while immediately cutting your hopes short.
There is a complex network of relationships in this exhibition and none of them are simply this or that, none of them exist within normalized binaries. They are all queer, which could mean anything, and that is just beautiful.
The exhibition “You and I”, presents Maheke’s film Mauve, Jim and John (2021), a tale about the various interactions between three entities. A tale based on modern myths, old fears and an escape from timeless oppressions. Although presented in A Black Box with its own separate entrance from the rest of the exhibition – Mauve, Jim and John, offers the viewer an interpretative lens through which they might perceive the remaining body of work present.
A Hall, functioning as a central stage, both literally and figuratively, becomes a place of change and transformation, processes both visible and invisible. A series of plants growing according to their own pace under that highly decorated skylight. Faces are obscured, a staircase is set, lights are spreading – replicated, and walls temporarily take on new identities. And there is clothing for everyone, don’t you even worry.
This might be yet another queer show. Testing the limits of conventional perception, deconstructing binaries, encouraging us to unlearn what has been encoded in our brains for so painfully long. Especially in a place like this. Especially in a country like this. In Slovakia, a place with a strong history of connection between the Catholic Church and fascism.
This is not just another queer show. This is a queer show in your local house of arts that offers you a non-restrictive space of expression. This is not just another queer show. This is a protest.
