Nothingness is the cost of understanding those I once loved

The performance explores themes of cleanliness, control, and ownership of public space. This minimalist live act disrupts common ideas about what is considered acceptable, clean, or “proper” within the urban environment. Through anonymous figures wearing semi-transparent costumes, hybrid bodies appear in the space—forms composed of materials found in everyday urban surroundings.

These posthuman figures, constructed from upcycled materials, bring into the center of the city what is usually pushed to its margins: waste, residues, and fragments of everyday life. In doing so, the performance questions social norms tied to the aesthetics of cleanliness and to the idea of the city as a controlled and domesticated space.

Inspired by Rosemary Shirley’s text Keeping Britain Tidy (2016) and responding metaphorically to the exhibition All the Rotten Fruits of Heaven at Umakart Gallery, the action creates a temporary alternative zone in the immediate surroundings of Lidická Street. Here, the “unnecessary” fragments of human activity return to the center of attention.

As the encounter between performers and audience gradually intensifies, the performance raises questions about who truly owns public space and what remains after attempts to purify the city of everything unwanted. Waste appears not as a sign of external intrusion, but rather as a marker of local presence—an assertion of the residents’ right to visibility and voice within the urban environment.

*Josef Kovář – DJ set for the performance; exhibition concept

Michal Durda – accompanying programme concept; costume design
Paulína Pinková, Karolína Auzká, Tamara Mižáková, Alžběta Papíková – performance (accompanying programme)

Karin Písaříková – exhibition curator (Umakart Gallery)*