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- Title
Pavlína Fichta Čierna: Reconstruction, 2005, video, 3.30.
- Authors
KUKUROVÁ, LENKA
- Abstract
In the permanent feature of the Profil magazine we introduce feminist artworks of domestic artists with the ambition to create a collection of feminist artworks, which we would also like to release in the form of a book, thus offering readers reliable navigation in the territory of gender-specific art. Staring out from the already existing rich archive of the magazine, we have decided that it will consist of at least a hundred feminist works and, if we exceed this limit, that will only be further proof that, even though feminism is not a mainstream art in Slovakia, the feminist discourse, which is received by the majority of the population with embarrassment, has significantly changed the mindset of many artists and, via their artworks, also that of a large part of exhibition visitors. This article, written for the journal Profil by Lenka Kukurová is a detailed analysis of Pavlína Fichta Čierna’s video Reconstruction, created for the exhibition Stop Violence Against Women (curator Lenka Kukurová) organized in cooperation with Amnesty International in 2005 in Bratislava. The video renders the powerful account of a middle-aged woman who experienced extreme violence by her intimate partner. It begins with a black screen and crawling titles, accompanied by an unpleasantly high piercing tone. Next appears a close-up of a woman’s face in front of a white wall with an electric outlet. This protagonist introduces us to the story with the words: “It’s unrecognizable now, and we’re in what used to be the kitchen.” We find ourselves in a home undergoing reconstruction. The artist draws our attention to the fact that violence against women in homes often has no witnesses. To be able to judge the act, we as spectators of the reconstruction, no different from criminal authorities, need to hear the testimony of the woman and to approach her with empathy, aware of the frequent menace of the violence going unpunished. The title Reconstruction is also a reference to the legalistic aspect and the legislative process, both of which are crucial in investigating domestic violence. Kukurová puts the piece into wider social and political context when she points out that Slovakia has yet to ratify the Istanbul Convention, which includes steps to help prevent violence on women. The governmental coalition in Slovakia has in fact since it took office in 2016 taken several steps backward in this area, proclaiming women’s rights to be an extremely liberal agenda. All this contributes to marginalizing women’s problems. For this reason, attention needs to be constantly drawn to these issues in all areas of society, including art. Pavlína Fichta Čierna is exemplary in her unceasing interest in society’s current topics.
- Subjects
SLOVAKIA; BRATISLAVA (Slovakia); FEMINIST art; AMNESTY International; VIOLENCE against women; POLITICAL violence; WOMEN'S rights; INTIMATE partner violence; MIDDLE-aged women; DOMESTIC violence; ELECTRIC connectors
- Publication
Profil súèasného výtvarného umenia / Contemporary Art Magazine, 2019, Issue 3, p72
- ISSN
1335-9770
- Publication type
Article