EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (2025)
THINGS WILL HAPPEN WHILE THEY CAN
The space of the visitors’ journey features a multimedia exhibition of the leading artists of the Czech art scene. Painter Jakub Matuška aka Masker, sculptor and designer Rony Plesl and creative collective Lunchmeat Studio present a dynamic site-specific installation along the organic spiral of the pavilion’s architecture as an audiovisual narrative linking a humanist legacy with an appeal for future society.
The original inspiration lies in the philosophical ethos of Alfons Mucha (1860–1939). The internationally renowned Art Nouveau artist planted hidden and transcendental meanings in his works which continue to carry a valid symbolical legacy for the contemporary human. In his unfinished triptych Three Ages created late in life, Mucha formulates his understanding of the higher dimension of humanity and an allegory of humanism through the three attributes of love, reason and wisdom. The central work running through the exhibition is the drawing and painting narrative by Jakub Matuška aka Masker. The visual story unfolds in a metaphorical spiral as a commentary on the human striving from mundane everydayness and subjective perception to archetypal and historical connotations. Through naturally familiar life situations, the individual intuitively gains knowledge and experience, moving on to a higher sphere of self-awareness. The journey through an imaginary landscape is enhanced by the glass sculptures by sculptor Rony Plesl. The monumental sculptural group of crystal tree trunks in front of the pavilion induces a primary moment of introspection and alludes to the thesis of complementarity between human and nature. More natural constellations gradually appear in the form of lush branches and glowing larger-than-life roses, embodying the joy of beauty and the sorrow of its transience. It is the eternal beauty in pain that leads towards the realization of true values which remain through the ages.
The unifying element is the immersive work by Lunchmeat Studio entitled The Last Call. The technologically sophisticated audiovisual installation monumentalizes the experience through multilayered visual and auditory impulses. The ambiguous and disturbing diction of the situational slogans and messages on digital displays, embedded in the environment of online communication, conveys the urgency of the message. The creative point of “the last call” is to gradually motivate the visitors to participate in andcollaborate on the essential topics of contemporary society. It accentuates the need for understanding the vulnerability of human existence.
Written by Lucie Drdová