Actworks

Peter Demek presents four objects from his long-term series "Actworks" at the Prám gallery. Although they function as independent works of art, they simultaneously serve as relics from a past exhibition performance. In this particular case, the performance took place in three separate acts that followed one another in quick succession: stripping the leaves from a laurel branch, squeezing out black liquid, hooking in, and doing a pull-up on a console. An integral part of the installation also includes the tools used to execute these actions, as well as a video revealing the performative nature of the works even after the exhibition opening has ended. Peter Demek has been working on this series of minimalist metal sculptures since 2011, gradually adding more and more objects, each always connected to a stark gestural action performed without prior rehearsal or practice—either by himself or with the help of delegated performers or assistants. The idea of connecting an object with a physical performance to create a "three-dimensional situation" stems from the artist's habitual practice of "sketching in the air," using dynamic finger movements to outline the intended form of an object. These gesture-actions do not reference the physically demanding labor of machining unyielding metal but rather demonstrate the artist's intimate relationship with the work and its hidden dynamic function. Of course, the role of the viewer is also crucial. Not that the gallery audience can interact with the exhibited objects in the same way as the artist does—Demek’s performances are more of a ceremony than an instruction manual for handling the sculptures. The exhibition also includes several objects from the "Stretchers" cycle—elastic bands of varying lengths and widths that the artist stretches in different ways in the context of his "Actworks." These, too, create a ritualistic framework by "binding" the exhibited objects into a specific constellation. During our conversation, the artist mentioned that he sometimes feels as if the "Actworks" series resists any change, maintaining the same repetitive structure. That intrigued me. I wondered—what if these are defiant objects? Rebellious mechanisms acting on their own will, trying to impose it on their creator and the viewers alike? After the exhibition performances end, the objects remain. We sense that they are connected to something—but to what exactly? Nothing is stated explicitly. The desire lingers, and their unsettling mystery continues to "hang in the air."