Tereza Špádová
Fine art: Object - Space - Action
Ujep University
Specialisms: Fine Art / Storytelling / Installation/Sculpture
Location: Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic
Tereza Špádová
First Name: Tereza
Last Name: Špádová
Specialisms: Fine Art / Storytelling / Installation/Sculpture
Sectors:
My Location: Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic
University / College: Ujep University
Course / Program Title: Fine art: Object - Space - Action
About
I am an artist living in Northern Bohemia, and I am interested in social issues, which I explore through contemporary altars that I seek in the everyday lives of people in the 21st century. My focus is on small communities, the middle and lower classes, and subcultures. In my work, I investigate what a contemporary altar for an ordinary person might look like and what elements it would consist of within certain social groups. I am drawn to the DIY subculture and am also interested in the concept of kitsch—where its boundaries lie and how it is subjectively perceived.
The thesis focuses on the topic of "digital altars." This term primarily refers to motivational altars on social media, featuring images such as flowing rivers, dawns, full moons, portals, and powerful animals alongside delicate fairies or lost characters on their journeys. It also involves a blending of diverse spiritual elements, such as those from shamanism, tarot, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity. The digital altar functions as a mystical shortcut to empower oneself before a challenging work shift or difficult life situation. The thesis also includes new compositions of these altars, where the citizens of Štětí themselves are placed in the leading roles of these graphics, incorporating all the eclectic elements of world religions and mysticism. Their bodies and strength are more real than those of otherworldly avatars. The town of Štětí in northern Bohemia is an industrial town dominated by a paper mill. The absence of mythology in this area is the subject of my interest, as I search for fragments of any belief in the everyday lives of the Štětí population. The installation also features painted works using acrylic and airbrush techniques, which play an important role in completing the essence of the sacred space and may help to further narrate the mythological story of the space, along with a central concrete altar with ceramic figurines.
Competitions
