Anna Ruth, Stanislav Zábrodský: Almost Time for a Bliss

We are inviting you to the exhibition Almost Time for a Bliss by Anna Ruth, Stanislav Zábrodský, curated by Edita Štrajtová, Světlana Malinová.

opening of the exhibition: 02/19/2024 at 6 p.m.
exhibition: 02/20 – 03/12/2024

My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. My dry throat calls for attention, this time with greater intensity. I am not even halfway there. My wings are unspeakably painful and I am gripped by panic. The sun glows and dazzles me so much I can barely keep my eyes open. I want to hide, but there’s nowhere to hide.

The wind picks up. It has begun blowing the sand off the scorched earth. The dry leaves slowly fall to the ground, more and more, every day. Leaving traces.

The sun burns every atom of my body. The refraction of light arrives at my eye, burning a deep hole into it and making it impossible for me to maintain direction. The feeling of falling terrifies me and I tentatively begin my descent.

The landing was painful.

The sun glowed and made the ground burn red hot. I have to cover my eyes to shield them from the waves of dry sand. I hear only the infinite torrent of wind. I try to figure out where I am. I see the meanders of a dry river in the distance. The earth is parched and inaccessible. Life has either receded to more negotiable terrain or disappeared completely. These parts were once pervaded by the stench of rot. The scent of decay vanished with the arrival of the scorching Sun, leaving behind only torsos, reminiscences of times past.

What was she like?

I can’t remember. The Sun has burned a deep hole in me. Remaining structures that lead nowhere. They fill me with a sense of hope, but there is also sadness without any palpable justification.

The originator of the glow is not the S un, but an object on the surface of the Earth. It looks as if it were absorbing all the heat of the sun and illuminating everything around it. I get closer and try to pick it up. I feel a strange surge of energy. It flows through my body and seems unending.

What is it like to feel alone? Like being absolutely famished as others around you prepare a plentiful feast. It is a feeling of shame and unease. You want to eat, but you don’t know how. Over time, you discover that it is not enough to feast with others – that the important thing is finding a place where you can eat on your own. Something inside you will be fed and become anchored.

I am waiting for the particle inside to get up and pick up its strength again. To seize its strength. The days grow longer, the case is narrower and narrower. The time to emerge into the light of day draws closer.

The project is implemented with the financial support State Culture Fund of the Czech Republic.

graphic design: Soňa Pavlík Juríková