9. 10. – 4. 11. 2024
Open Studio: 29. 10. 2024
Residency outcome: 31. 10. 2024
Curator and author of the text: Daniela Šiandorová
I met Juliana and Aurélia during the deep pandemic at a residency in another gallery in Prague. Aurélia as an artist working with the harsh beauty of the body (both hers and of others) through a highly aestheticized language with a touch of nostalgically cheesy sophistication of films from the 80s and 90s. Juliana, in turn, as an artist working with issues of care, renowned for her culinary skills and her interest in new exploring flavors and aromas of countries across the globe. I found their connection surprising, at first, but after the time we spent together, I understood that it was not at all coincidental.
The art research project “Est-ce que t’es bien mise?” brings together their work in a fitting dialogue naturally stemming from common interests and explorations. The starting point of the residency project was inspired by the Czech touristic phenomenon of beer spas. These, by their nature, served to open up a deeper exploration of the relationship between camp aesthetics and care through the tension between coping and healing in different environments.
In this case, the beer bath has become a place for exploring and deconstructing the relationship between the body and inner experience, pleasurable indulgence, intimacy, but also ironic pleasure. The fusion of “camp culture” and spa culture highlights the irony inherent in this experience. Beer spa in itself contains a certain contradiction. Bathing in beer is a luxurious indulgence with supposedly healing effects for the body and mind, but it is also an extravagant, highly aestheticized ritual shrouded in irony and absurdity. Through this combination, the project asks questions about the ways in which we seek care and healing. It is a critique of temporary solutions that, while providing us with relief, will never offer a lasting cure. In the context of the project, camp aesthetics is a tool through which we can explore the boundaries of these contradictions. It celebrates irony, humor, and hyperbole, and challenges the mainstream social norms.
The cultural patterns culminated in a performance reading of fun fiction by @businessgirl_drinkingbeer, which was a part of the residency output. Aurélia, together with Juliane, dressed in hand-sewn outfits consisting of robes from the “Versace” workshop, embellished with ornamental gold-colored embroidery, slippers with dozens of sparkling diamonds and piercings on them, together with Aurélia’s signature Gen Z lingo with comments such as slaaay, perfectly underlined the flamboyant aesthetics of the luxurious camp extravaganza. Likewise, the choice of the literary genre of fun fiction was built on a solid foundation of camp culture, as the artists’ content narrated monthly insights reflecting on life during the residency while also raising many deeper questions the project contains: what does care mean in the contemporary world? How do we respond to the pleasures and rituals offered to us as tools of “healing”? And what role does the irony inherent to camp aesthetics play in this?
Two different artistic approaches of the artists merged into one, and for a brief moment, we became part of a spectacular camp show with a complex commentary on our rituals of care and how they can become aesthetics and cultural games that force us to think about what is truly valuable.
