KATEŘINA SVOBODOVÁ

Fragile Plant

Painting Studio 3

The central subject of your work Křehkobýl is the old Czech pastry called vrkoč. What exactly is it, and how do you reinterpret this object in your work?
The vrkoč is a traditional Czech ceremonial pastry that symbolizes the sun, ritual gift-giving, and personal prayers for the future. It was not intended for consumption but served as a gift. It was imbued with magical powers. I am drawn to DIY aesthetics and the representation of spirituality in objects and images. That is why I tried to find a balance between simplicity and the mystery hidden within it, as well as the traditional form of the object. I suspect the very act of creating a ceremonial object can be a very powerful contemporary ritual. I have combined fabric with its symbolism of intertwining, small ornamental pastries, fire, and various uses of wax. The braid becomes part of the whole, together with the paintings and their garden of ceramic apples, which appear as the bearers of white light. The braid is a gift for the ancient and future Křehkobýl.

Is ritual important to your work? The gifting of the braid has a certain ceremonial character.
Absolutely. No matter what form of ritual we are talking about, I enjoy creating settings that can accurately convey a certain experience I have both during the creative process and outside of it – and this experience is inextricably linked to ritual. Gradually getting to know this charming, traditional object has guided me through a landscape I want to continue exploring. 

Your work features ruffled fabrics, beeswax, ceramics… What is your relationship to these materials?
They fascinate me because they offer many ways to approach both the inner and outer environments. They facilitate deeper connection – both with oneself and with the experience of the surrounding world. I am just getting to know these materials, and it is important to me that they help me navigate through them and through myself, and that I can somehow better grasp them. The materials evoke a sense of calmness, which I also capture in my paintings. The white, sun-bleached and understated fabric steps out of the painting and into space. I felt as though I was painting, but with fabric!
The red ceramic apple towering at the top signifies the presence of the sun at the time of the winter solstice, a time when people needed spiritual forces more than at any other time of the year. Winter was harsh, cold, and full of fears about future survival. People would turn inward and call to the sun as living energy for the return of light. The experience of creating apples as a message of tomorrow’s coming light was important to me. I hold beeswax and ceramics in high regard and perceive them very sensually and haptically. In my paintings, I really let the beeswax show through in places.

photo: Polina Davydenko