On 19 August, the event Ghosts of the Impossible Present will take place in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Lectures and sonic interventions by the artists Linda Boļšakova, Arvis Kantiševs, Sandra Kosorotova and Artjom Astrov, will guide us through their research and work across several spots in Bratislava. Linda Boļšakova’s investigation started by examining the environments of orchids in the quarry on the outskirts of the city, which led her to ponder questions of deep time, extinction, and evolution. These questions hold an urgent significance today as we seek a path to a shared future, shadowed by the climate catastrophe. Linda talked with botanists and biologists, weaving their knowledge into her speculative script created together with Arvis Kantiševs.
Through sound, movement and interaction with sculptural objects, Linda Boļšakova and Arvis Kantiševs invite viewers to immerse themselves in the geological heritage of Bratislava. The performance will take place under the natural climbing wall Platňa, Strmá cesta, Bratislava, aiming to awaken our senses and access memories of deep time carried through to the future by stones and minerals.
Sandra Kosorotova and Artjom Astrov have been developing a lyrical lecture that they will perform at the event. Sandra has been working with personal notes and quotes she collected throughout the last year, focusing on plants in different European locations she has lived in and visited during this period, including Bratislava and Brussels. She arranged them into a poetic presentation, which has another resurfacing theme: the fear of contamination—by the outside or others—and the failure of containment. The text also includes writing by Artjom.
More information and the full event programme on the Kunsthalle Bratislava website.
The event is organised by Kunsthalle Bratislava in collaboration with the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art. Supported by Baltic Culture Fund, Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation, Estonian State Culture Capital Foundation, Suvenir shop & cafe.
Photo: Linda Boļšakova, Biology of Love, 2021, Group show Fieldworks, Institute for Environmental Solutions (Cēsis, Latvia), curator Aleksejs Beļeckis. The performance costume (pictured) made in collaboration with artist Sandra Kosorotova, foto: Kristīne Madjare