IT RECEDES AS YOU IMAGINE IT

GPS: 47.938147,19.586284

It recedes as you imagine it

In the summer of 2012, we started our research in Cserhátszentiván, a village in Hungary, based on the history of the open air bath which was destroyed in 1944. The one-time public bath has disappeared in the storm of history, or rather, it has become an entity that is difficult to grasp, with some exaggeration, a metaphor. This inquiry has set us off to map the present and recent past of the whole village from a historical and sociocultural perspective. We are presenting this research material here, processed with the methods of fine art. Our knowledge about the village and the bath is broken down into 8 th[Z1] ematic units in the exhibition: legends and facts that also relate to themes in a sense general, concerning life in Central Europe. This complex material of memories is mixed with fiction in the virtual topographical meshwork[Z2] presented in the exhibition space. Each station in the village map is followed by the individual themes raised, the related paintings, installations, photos, texts, graphic works and a video within the exhibition space. [Z1]Broken down?break down to itemize: to break down a hotel bill into daily charges.to separate into constituent parts: to break down a beefcarcass into basic cuts. [Z2]Rendszer? Háló. A behálóz az angolban csak hálóba fog értelemben használatos

In the summer of 2012, we started our research in Cserhátszentiván, a village in Hungary, based on the history of the open air bath which was destroyed in 1944. The one-time public bath has disappeared in the storm of history, or rather, it has become an entity that is difficult to grasp, with some exaggeration, a metaphor. This inquiry has set us off to map the present and recent past of the whole village from a historical and sociocultural perspective. We are presenting this research material here, processed with the methods of fine art. Our knowledge about the village and the bath is broken down into 8 thematic units in the exhibition: legends and facts that also relate to themes in a sense general, concerning life in Central Europe. This complex material of memories is mixed with fiction in the virtual topographical meshwork presented in the exhibition space. Each station in the village map is followed by the individual themes raised, the related paintings, installations, photos, texts, graphic works and a video within the exhibition space.

1st Story: The bath, Golden age /// Changing booths

We might believe that the changing booth is a functional construct: its use is to provide a space to visitors of the pool for dressing (hidden from the public space of the community event); in fact, it is a peculiar kind of micro space, which is also a site for ventilating.We built a cubicle similar to a changing booth, which visitors can enter to watch and listen to the film projected on the wall. The video explores the history of the pool of Cserhátszentiván, with residents and people who have moved from the village talking about the transformation of the village, from its feudal relations through modernity to the present.

We can see a film montage about a one-time public bath in a village (in North Hungary). Several memory versions were generated in the reflections of the villagers around the process of the bath coming to ruin. These were compiled into a continuous narrative, using the interviews and recordings taken at the premises, as well as quotes from films.

2nd Story: Shooting range Pistol160 x 200 x 100 cm, , wood, plastic, 2013

The installation can be interpreted as a kind of memorial – or anti-memorial – which erects an elastic and deliberately banal memento to the probably most tragic event of the village. The form is the minimalist version of a classic modernist construction, the silhouette of a pistol built from special building insulations.

3rd Story: The handsome Father Bándi Cassock 80 x 600 x 145 cm, wood, rubber, 2013

Similarly to the pistol of the shooting range story, this installation also uses the genre of the memorial to reflect on a village story that could be seen as typical. The rubber covered cassock silhouette spread out longitudinally in the room is an ironic response to the role of churches in small communities, as well as the sexually charged character of this role.