IN MY PLACE

2018

The exhibition project presents artworks of three artists from my family - great-grandfather Josef Kachlík (*1897 - 1978), grandfather Josef Kachlík (*1926 - 2010) and mine own works. We all come from a small town Vyskov, in the Czech Republic.
My grandfather and great-grandfather were interested in Plein air painting. In their works, we can see places in our region, which are not existing anymore. In addition to the artistic quality of their works, we sense the importance of historical value in the same way. Since I moved to Finland, where I live in a small village surrounded by forests, I started to feel like working in plein air as well. The landscape became main theme for some period of time. I felt it was the right moment for our exhibition since we all worked in nature, which banded us together. The exhibition of Three Generations of Kachlik family, introduced to the audience three artists from one family and their three different perspectives on the landscape. In Vyskov almost every resident owns a work from one of the Josef Kachlík. For this exhibition works were gathered by a form of collective curating where owners of the paintings could lend their works for exhibition, so that means that I couldn’t know an exact visual form of the  exhibition in advance. The exhibition itself was an active medium that demanded public attention. The interactive part included five spots in the Vyskov city centrum, where the public could see the same views of places that painters painted and draw by using QR code to find the original artwork. During the exhibition were set up workshops inspired by the heritage of my ancestors.
The most enriching experience for me was talking with residents who shared their memories of my ancestors. During open call for collecting artworks for exhibition, I witnessed to see works I had never seen before and I found even two fake artworks! The exhibition connected me with my roots, with my friends who were volunteering and endlessly helping me during an installation. The realization of the project was possible thanks to Vyskov city, residents, local companies, my family and even the fire brigade, who helped me with large scale installation. 
photo: Jiri Foltyn