Zuzana Baková (*2000) is studying in the Free Creativity 3D Studio at the Faculty of Arts in Košice under the guidance of Radovan Čerevka. She focuses on creating objects, installations, and environments using ceramics, textiles, and other materials through which she critically comments on various social and personal issues.
At the current exhibition Shades of Red, she presents her latest ceramic creations, which she carefully installs in the specific spaces of the Mine of the Jozef Kollár Gallery. She creates ceramics from clay sourced from the Slovak Magnesite Works in Jelšava. The clay has acquired its penetrating orange-red color through alkalization caused by magnesite mining. It is contaminated clay that has lost its fertility. By choosing this material, the artist explores how deeply magnesite mining has impacted the environment and what this soil, as a sculptural material, offers.
At the exhibition, Baková presents two projects: "Liquid Brick" (2022-2023) and "Bon Appétit" (2023). The first cycle includes ceramic vases and containers that the artist created using plaster molds directly on the Jelšava magnesite heap. The performative process of creating these objects is captured in a video, which can be seen before entering the Mine. The relief in the side room depicts the magnesite "lunar" landscape. Here, the artist succinctly represents the appearance, "architecture," and patterns of the Jelšava environment. The title of the "Liquid Brick" project accurately describes the suspended objects shaped like hoods, from which clay gradually falls into the interior of an old corroded barrel. The artwork symbolizes transience - of home, safety, and the health of people living in a country disrupted by mining.
The "Bon Appétit" project consists of a large dining table where ceramic objects resembling body parts or animal organs are served. The artist criticizes the consumption of meat, which has devastating consequences for nature. The festive table depicts a speculative situation in the future when the price of meat will be very high due to the unbearable effects of excessive cattle farming, and people will only be able to afford meat products on exceptional occasions and celebrations.
TEXT BY: ZUZANA BAKOVÁ
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