In the fictional world of the Japanese sci-fi Final Fantasy, we encounter the fantastical features of the sword & sorcery genre, alternative historical facts, manga characters, variously stylized cartoon entities, as well as fairly everyday characters. At first sight, this wild mash-up of genres and features of both eastern and western (pop-)cultures is a chaotic, eclectic world of appropriation, but it also indexes a world where History overlaps with dreams, personal memory, and the private spirituality of its actors. The exhibition features the end-of year, final works of students of the Center for Audiovisual Studies, and adopts the title of the game series as a reference point from which to better grasp the long, global pandemic as a necessary ideal – a new “final fantasy” of the coming future. If the experiences of the last two years constitute a dividing line between the old world and the new, what is this new world we are now entering? The final fantasy refers to the current reconfiguration of ideas about the future as a place of entrenched spirituality, magic and private ritual. Much like in the game world, features of identity and the abstract concept of substance (which can mean a chemical substance, matter, principle, or a base) are key here, and serve as the foundation for the practical bridging of the contradiction between nature and technology, as well as instruments and energy. The exhibited works in a certain sense stand poised on the threshold between the 3D visuality of game environments, ARG games, virtual reality, traditional methods and crafts, such as ceramics, print and natural materials. These however do not create mutual tension, but rather constitute a coherent medium for the narration of personal mythologies.
The individual presentation of the VR project Cuddle Therapy is part of the exhibition and will take place on the dates specified on the Galerie AMU Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/galerie.amu
Accompanying program:
Shine Bright Like a Diamond Lucie Myslíková
A city game, 90 mins.
Friday, 25 June, 5 – 6.30 PM
The city game Shine Bright Like a Diamond is the final outcome of Lucie Myslíková’s residency at the INI space, during which she addressed the issue of contemporary living conditions. The players’ objective is to become the perfect candidates for acquiring housing at a luxurious residence. The game will start at 5 PM in the space of the Diamond River housing residence, then there will be a shared walk to the INI space. See more at fb.com/iniprojectprostor
Cuddle therapy is a form of therapy which focuses on asexual contact and shows just how much contemporary society is deprived of it. Touch is able to produce the hormone oxytocin which promotes social behavior and gives us a sense of safety. Due to the pandemic measures, we attempted to simulate cuddle therapy by means of virtual space and haptic objects. The installation can be visited individually during specified times, after registering at fb.com/galerie.amu
video by Miroslava Konečná
photo by Lenka Janíčková
GAMU (Gallery AMU), Malostranské náměstí 12, Praha 1
(entrance from the passage to Tržiště Street)
opening hours Thu – Sun 1pm–7pm
The AMU Gallery’s exhibition program is made possible by the financial support of the Prague City Hall and of the Ministry of Culture Czech Republic.
