The Family: Always Avoid Discussions, Never Discuss
The assumption that the artistic duo The Rodina will present themselves through their graphic design work 鈥� the medium most commonly associated with Tereza Ruller and V铆t Ruller 鈥� is seemingly unmet by this exhibition. You won鈥檛 find here the outputs of their design collaborations with internationally renowned cultural institutions, nor their music videos or performance recordings. Those interested can browse through their online archives. This exhibition instead focuses on the present architectural and institutional situation: it engages with the exhibition as a specific form of communication; it responds to the intricate layout of the space, does not obscure its historical arches, the dominant window system, or the 鈥渞oom-like鈥� character of each section. Even this reflective, commentary-driven approach corresponds with the fundamental tenets of graphic design, where visual messaging is inextricably linked to a given referent.
At the same time, the exhibition offers something akin to a model representation of The Rodina鈥檚 artistic program and conceptual approaches. These include, for instance, media and material transfers between the virtual and the physical, between two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms, between different scales, and between technical imagery and painting that emphasizes specific texture, pigments, or substrate. (One might note a post-internet reference here 鈥� in the remixing, critical undertones, temporality, and blurred authorship.) The duo handles these transitions with confidence and ease, no doubt thanks to their professional experience spanning various creative fields such as performance, animation, curating, and programming.
Interestingly, neither originally studied graphic design: Tereza trained in intermedia art, while V铆t studied social sciences 鈥� lending their artistic practice a clear and recognizable signature. Alongside communication in the sense of emotional engagement with the viewer, one of their key concepts is labor and authorship. This includes making visible the often 鈥渋nvisible鈥� agents and creative processes, which are as important as the final result. Equally crucial is the presence of the creator as a physical person, including their corporeality; creation as a performative act; and the presence of technology.
This approach can be connected to the often-cited Actor-Network Theory of Bruno Latour, which attributes active agency and the capacity to act to technologies or objects. Every actor is part of a network of other actors 鈥� shaping and being shaped by this network. These are not static structures but dynamic webs of relations connecting people, institutions, technologies, etc. The artists effectively convey this dynamism through a performance realized within the exhibition by Tereza Ruller and Ad茅la Kone膷n谩 鈥� a performance co-created by the audience through their presence.
The assumption that the artistic duo The Rodina will present themselves through their graphic design work 鈥� the medium most commonly associated with Tereza Ruller and V铆t Ruller 鈥� is seemingly unmet by this exhibition. You won鈥檛 find here the outputs of their design collaborations with internationally renowned cultural institutions, nor their music videos or performance recordings. Those interested can browse through their online archives. This exhibition instead focuses on the present architectural and institutional situation: it engages with the exhibition as a specific form of communication; it responds to the intricate layout of the space, does not obscure its historical arches, the dominant window system, or the 鈥渞oom-like鈥� character of each section. Even this reflective, commentary-driven approach corresponds with the fundamental tenets of graphic design, where visual messaging is inextricably linked to a given referent.
At the same time, the exhibition offers something akin to a model representation of The Rodina鈥檚 artistic program and conceptual approaches. These include, for instance, media and material transfers between the virtual and the physical, between two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms, between different scales, and between technical imagery and painting that emphasizes specific texture, pigments, or substrate. (One might note a post-internet reference here 鈥� in the remixing, critical undertones, temporality, and blurred authorship.) The duo handles these transitions with confidence and ease, no doubt thanks to their professional experience spanning various creative fields such as performance, animation, curating, and programming.
Interestingly, neither originally studied graphic design: Tereza trained in intermedia art, while V铆t studied social sciences 鈥� lending their artistic practice a clear and recognizable signature. Alongside communication in the sense of emotional engagement with the viewer, one of their key concepts is labor and authorship. This includes making visible the often 鈥渋nvisible鈥� agents and creative processes, which are as important as the final result. Equally crucial is the presence of the creator as a physical person, including their corporeality; creation as a performative act; and the presence of technology.
This approach can be connected to the often-cited Actor-Network Theory of Bruno Latour, which attributes active agency and the capacity to act to technologies or objects. Every actor is part of a network of other actors 鈥� shaping and being shaped by this network. These are not static structures but dynamic webs of relations connecting people, institutions, technologies, etc. The artists effectively convey this dynamism through a performance realized within the exhibition by Tereza Ruller and Ad茅la Kone膷n谩 鈥� a performance co-created by the audience through their presence.
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