Adam Vackar, introduction speech
For some years now, questions of colonialism, its legacy and the way how to address this legacy have been central themes of contemporary art. It is noticeable that while artists and theoreticians from North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Arab countries are represented in exhibitions, symposia and debates on this topic, representatives from countries that were subject to the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union are simply not present.
The war in Ukraine has not only exposed Moscow's colonial claims but also revealed an ambivalent relationship between Western countries and those in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. While Western countries sought to address the security concerns arising from Moscow's colonial claims, insufficient attention was paid to the security, respect, and self-determination needs of these countries.
Therefore, it is necessary to ask: Why is it that in the West, hardly any attention is paid to the experiences of these countries? Why a supposedly binding global knowledge about colonialism and racism is produced without the inclusion of the experiences of the people from these regions, as witnessed by the absence of representatives from these countries in the current postcolonial debate? It is time for the people of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia to raise their voices.
The symposium in Prague, initiated by Hope Recycling Station and the working group it has launched at CCA Berlin in spring 2023, has set itself the task of making these voices heard.
Adam Vačkář is based in Prague. His work is conceptually driven and operates across the disciplinary boundaries of visual art, biology, ecological thought, and power structures. He examines the interrelated human interaction with invasive plants, exploring how production of knowledge and structures of power influence and operate political, social, racial, and spiritual relation between humans and invasive plants. He’s using the metaphor of invasive Giant Hogweed to examine questions of both non-human and human perspectives. His previous works address questions of entangled identities in the region of Central and Eastern Europe through autotheory and exhibition projects of his family archive, materializing in numerous installations and films. Vačkář graduated from ENSBA in Paris, and his work has been presented at S.M.A.K., Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo, Art Basel (Statements and Film), Museum Morsbroich, National Gallery in Prague, City Gallery Prague, FRAC Occitanie Montpellier, Frac Champagne-Ardenne, FRAC Franche-Comté, among other venues. He is a co-founder of the Hope Recycling Station platform, which organizes lectures featuring international artists, thinkers, scientists, philosophers, and writers.