Denisa Langrová comes to Zlín with stories about the physicality and disembodiment of human and non-human beings, with reflections on life beyond the existing natural conditions of the Earth. She mythologizes scientific research on the expected planetary catastrophe and connects it with dreams of animal rebellion. The mythologization of climate change is played out through the elements of air-water-earth. The fourth element of fire is brought into the installation by guest and exhibition printmaker Alex Sihelsk*, who translates the bodily fluids and milky way fluids that flow through Denise's narrative into metal.
Three new videos, an older one, and a new audio featuring her grandmother's memories are composed by Denisa Langrova into a cohesive whole, imagining the future workings of life in the Earth's atmosphere, adaptive strategies, and the liberation of bodies shackled by the system of animal production, a sector of human production facing an acceleration period in the era of robotization and the transition to an AI-driven environment. Denise's narrative shows the extinction of species, but also of individuals, as a transition to another stage of being.
When the body of the animal leaves, the companions of more than one species see it off in an interspecies farewell. Denisa Langrová connects the story of the owner of the Jarikhanda asylum in Březůvkách near Zlín to the narrative of the future of plants: "With the soul of Basica, I went to the White Cross+", says the melusina in the video, who represents the element of air. The scientific depiction of the adaptation of organisms to life in elevated CO2 concentrations and the change of photosynthetic processes in a carbon future turns into a prophetic depiction of a different form of vegetation life. In the way information and emotion are presented, the author reduces the experience of the difference between what is dead and what is alive as an experience of something we are actually going through already.
Denise has identified the experimental ecological site of the White Cross as the centre of a forest prophecy of transformation. The melusine, embodying both the scientist and the mythical figure, the liminal (transitional) being between woman and serpent that accompanied medieval legends of territorial conquest, that is, stories of the (re)division of the earth, appears in this narrative as a transducer between the realms of the living and the inanimate in binary terms.
In Denisa Langrová's story, climate change is mixed not only with the extinction of species, which is depicted not only as a civilizational horror, but much more comprehensively as a change in the species composition of life (since not all species suffer from climate change). But it is also intertwined with technological change, the transformation of humans into cyborgs and chimeras. The author's consistent anti-scientific stance is displayed in the narrative of intimate relationships between humans and machines, here a machine turning cow saliva into drinking water. It is certainly no surprise to anyone that transgender and feminist modes of narration meet the narrative of farm animals in factory farms and Denisa Langrova's other major theme, which is animal rebellion. The title of the exhibition reveals this. The notion of animal self-defence reflects the artist's active interest in the area of human-animal relations, which is closely intertwined with her artistic practice and thus explodes the myth of the dichotomy of autonomous and engaged art. Her work shows that it is not necessary to polarize art in this way; on the contrary, it can be dangerous for art and the art scene.
Langrová retells the biblical story of the creation of the Earth and combines it with the true story of a rescued cow, Viktorka, who escaped from a slaughterhouse and roamed the forests and pastures of southern Bohemia until her rescue was initiated by the Farm of Joy. Viktoria represents in the story something like the mother of the Earth, the being who gave the first milk to the Milky Way. The rebellion of the animals stands here as the beginning of a new age. Thus, this new video series connects to an earlier video in which the author herself came out of her friendship with a rescued cow named Heavenly. In the film, which you can see in the last room, the latter represents a feral creature who overcame domestication and broke free with her human friend.
In the audio that spreads through the space from the first room, we hear the recollections of Denisa's grandmother, Mrs. Anna Krásná, about her life connected with animals on her parents' farm, through the situation of women and animals in livestock production at the beginning of the collectivization of cooperatives, to her own work in various centers of veterinary administration and livestock production. This audio brings into the whole not only a kind of DNA of Denisa's work, where she was shaped by her relationship with her grandmother, but also by her father's stay in the collection of raw materials, who in his long time working in this field has accumulated real materials from people's unnecessary things. Mrs. Krásná's narrative brings us back to a different understanding of domesticated animals and to an awareness of the leapfrogging pace of mechanization and robotization of this environment, but it also shows the position of women in it. By collaging news, stories and micro-stories of different time layers, Denisa Langrová not only makes present but also integrates fragmentary accounts of our more-than-human future into a more holistic picture.
+ Bílý Kříž in the Beskydy Mountains is a workplace designed for long-term monitoring of energy and substance flows, investigating physiological processes (photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration), researching the functioning of the spruce ecosystem as a whole and predicting its future behaviour under changing climate conditions and planning measures to maintain or increase the ability of the spruce ecosystem to capture CO2 from the atmosphere.
Denisa Langrová completed her bachelor studies at UMPRUM in the Sculpture Studio. She then studied Veterinary Care at the University of Brno and the Master's programme in Animal Health and Welfare Management at the ČZU in Prague. In October 2022, she returned to UMPRUM for her Master's studies in the Studio of Liberal Arts III. Denisa Langrová's concepts are based on ecofeminist theories, environmental studies, interspecies and non-binary foundations. She is interested in the intersections of the stories of humans and other animals, the concept of domestication and its possible connection to love, and her personal experience of living in a global crisis and capitalism. She sees the personal as political and vice versa. Although Denisa Langrová's works are often readable and ironic, they also leave room for imagination. The works are often based on stories in which she freely combines real and fictional elements. She creates works that move between the notions of speculative documentary and video essay. Langrova's creative process often takes the form of alternative artistic research. She is also inspired by parallel studies in which scientific and rational analysis prevails. Through art, she seeks a space for emotionality, irrationality and paradigm disruption.
She connects the fields of art, activism and care in an interesting way. She enjoys using her experience in the arts in independent collectives, civic movements, non-profits and activist groups. She is dedicated to animal rights advocacy, helping in rescue stations and shelters. She is also the author of several educational workshops, panel discussions and other sharing formats at the intersection of art and education.
Alex Sihelsk* is a multidisciplinary artist working on contemporary and traditional witchcraft, which she/he views as an attempt to return to usurped knowledge and recontextualize it in queer perspectives. She/he considers these issues from the perspective of intersectional anarcho-feminism and the critique of anthropocentrism and capitalism that emerges from it. Alex's research draws on Queer Ecologies theory, the extra-human agenda, Slavic folklore and queer readings of horror. His/her practice draws on the conviction that it may be difficult to imagine the end of capitalism through a heteropatriarchal lens, but the potential of marginalized groups and minorities who are used to living as if no future was ever invented for them can paradoxically dream up other visions. Alex therefore turns to mythological narratives and speculative fiction in search of answers, believing that stories are the most effective way of understanding. After completing his/her studies at the Centre for Audiovisual Studies at FAMU in Prague, he/she is simultaneously researching and educating within solarpunk visions of the future, queerness and sustainability. She/he develops her practice mainly in the medium of moving image, installation, performance or virtual reality, trying to expand the possibilities of each medium through the search for new approaches and strategies.
Audio
Narrator - Anna Krásná
Water
Cyborg - Ruta Putramentaite
Lelly - Sara Märc
Air
Melusine - Mária Fialová
Vendula Jandorová + Jarikhanda asylum
Country
Angel - Adriana Vančová
Music - timmi
Sound mix
Jonáš Richter
Acknowledgements
Anna Krásná
Vladimír Langr collecting raw materials Pohoda
Ladislav Šigut Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Vendula Jandorová Jarikhanda asylum
Ruta Putramentaite
Sara Märc
Mária Fialová
Jonáš Richter
Adriána Vančová
Michaela Kozáková
