Mysterious mushroom prints entice at Skolska 28
A new art exhibit opened at the Skolska Communication Space in Prague last week. The subject of the artist's work holds a special place in Czech hearts. Kate Barrette finds out more about the exhibit called Houbicky, or "Little Mushrooms".
The last time artist Martina Smejkalova showed her mushroom prints was at a photography exhibit in Canada. But cameras had no part in her work.
Dana Recmanova is the curator for the exhibit at the Skolska Gallery in Prague.
"At the first sight people usually think it's photography or manipulated photography because they do look like photography, but then when you come closer you actually can see the little bit of spores."
The prints, which are made using all kinds of edible and inedible fungi, are a kind of ode to the mushroom.
Martina: "Yeah the tradition is really big here and I'm really the mushroomer - a big one - from childhood. I love it - I love to walk in the forest and I'm fascinated, really, by mushrooms. This work started that I wanted to show something else with the mushrooms - than just that you're collecting them and eating them and throwing them away. The mushroom is such an amazing object - it has colours, different shapes - also that you can see the spores are amazing."
The 17 mushroom prints which lined the walls of the gallery in blacks and browns, drew a variety of reactions from the crowd which filled the small, calming space last Thursday - an oasis in the centre of Prague.
Student - "For me, I like mushroom, because I mean, because it's so many different forms, and actually it's this kind of virus. For me it's kind of - strange..."
Artist - "I think it's a great idea to come with - that motifs from the nature can reflect something to us."
Documentary Filmmaker - "It's very specific that these mushrooms are able to create a three-dimensional feeling - like certain globes or brains."
Martina insists that the mushrooms are as much a part of making the prints as the artist. While she influences the form, the mushrooms create the colour, structure and shape of the final piece.
Martina: "It's really easy - you just put the mushroom on the paper - and the mushroom is working. I'm just somebody who is used - also - by the mushroom!"
The exhibit runs until November 30.
This Sunday the show adds music to mushrooms with a live concert featuring improvisational musicians Beth Cluster on clarinet and Rajesh Mehta on trumpets.
