25. 1. – 7. 3. 2024
Open Studio: 4. 3. 2024
Residency outcome: 7. 3. 2024
Curator and author of the text: Daniela Šiandorová
Tereza Vinklárková, as the first participant of the Pragovka Gallery residency program, opened the year with systematic research and a clear vision for the direction of her work, linking science with visual arts. Her artistic language is based on research in the field of human experience and its manifestations. In her current praxis, she focuses primarily on the presence of neuropsychology in the visual arts. For Vinklárková, emotional experiences which, especially as a result of trauma, lead to physiological changes in the body are key. With her approach, she draws attention to the connection between psychological and bodily processes and opens up a deeper discussion on the origins of psychosomatic processes. These themes not only pose a personal challenge to the individual, but also have wider social implications.
She finds inspiration for her work in the theoretical work of Elizabeth A. Wilson, one of the pioneers of gender studies. Wilson points out that scientific endeavors have long favored cognitive, rational, and conscious events while calling for the integration of social, environmental, and psychological processes into biological ones. The artist responds to this call by seeking a deeper understanding of emotional experience rooted in our bodies and neurobiology. At the same time, she encourages reflection on how society perceives and addresses these complex processes.
The outcome of Tereza Vinklárková’s residency is an installation made of a combination of textile and latex materials forming a scenic environment. Created during a month-long residency at Pragovka Gallery, the installation is a partial aspect to the upcoming short stories of a long-term project with the working title of Itstory. The artist began working on it during a residency at the artist-run initiative Petrohradská Kolektiv in Prague last year, the outcome of which was the first in a series of film stories called Prolog (Prologue).
The pilot episode provided an introspective look into the consciousness of the main characters who are tormented ethereal beings. Their gender is not defined as masculine or feminine as they appear somewhere in the middle. The etheric beings, otherwise known as the wanderers in the film, explore their inner selves in search of the origin of the health problems plaguing them. Their journey is also a symbolic struggle with themselves, with their own health, and mental health issues, which they seek to understand and heal. Through poetic dialogues, the author reveals the deeper layers of internalized attitudes of a patriarchal society towards mental health. The critical commentary draws attention to the often-overlooked connections between emotional experience and physical health, thus becoming an appeal to all who dare to be a part of her performing environment, even for a moment.
Tereza Vinklárková (*1996) is a visual artist also working under the pseudonym Gloriya Komarova. She graduated in Intermedia and Digital Art at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology, where she is currently pursuing her doctoral studies. Her research focuses on the presence of neuropsychology in visual art and on emotional experiences which—particularly as a result of trauma—cause physiological changes in our bodies. Her artistic practice includes installations made of upcycled textile materials that form safe space objects and so-called soft sculptures. Together with machine-embroidered details, these elements have become an inseparable part of her artistic signature. Tereza has completed study residencies at KASK in Ghent and EKA in Tallinn. She is a member of the rest-oriented collective lilky_60200 and a co-curator of Galerie Cejla in Brno.
