The main symbol of the Czech Presidency is a wreath of twelve
medicinal plants, and this has been incorporated in the design of
the large, ecologically-manufactured carpet installed in the main
area of the atrium in the building where Council meetings are
held. The weaving of wreaths is an ancient, not only Slavic,
tradition. Young unwed women cast wreaths into the river during
the solstice to guarantee their romantic future. This symbolised
not only the vitality of youth but also the natural continuation
of life after leaving one’s home hearth. In keeping with the main
symbol for the artistic presentation of the Czech Presidency, the
artists chose to replace the twelve gold stars on the EU flag with
twelve medicinal plants from different European regions. The
resulting wreath, in which the stems of each plant are twisted
around those of the previous one to create a more interwoven and
stronger bond, embodies a gesture promoting a stronger European
togetherness between all of the EU’s unique and distinct regions.
A union, which does not exclude local identities, folklore, or
traditions.
The floral motif is, however, also an ecological appeal,
particularly within the context of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the
approaching energy crisis, which has become one of the main themes
of the Czech Presidency. The blue background of the flag has thus
been replaced with a green one. The history of the flag of the
European Union dates back to 1955, to the time of the European
Coal and Steel Community, which had only six member states. And so
the motif has been transformed from glowing stars in a distant sky
to a community of flowers in a buzzing summer meadow.
The metaphor of the wreath is also pointed at the Czech nation
itself, and its tendency to be sceptical towards big ideas from
outside. The substitution of flowers for the stars is a gesture,
intended to help the Czechs to plausibly communicate the European
concept of “unity in diversity”. It should also facilitate a
better understanding of ecological transformation through the warm
and positive relationship Czechs have with nature. At the same
time, since the Czech Republic celebrated its eighteenth year of
EU membership this year, it draws attention to the country’s
transition into adulthood and its ensuing responsibilities. Even
in the distant past, in the “Prague Appeal” of 1985, Václav Havel
and other Charter 77 signatories spoke about a Europe unified
through a common spiritual foundation as of a beam of hope for all
the citizens of totalitarian countries. This hope is once again
very pertinent today and, given the current Russian aggression,
maybe even the most pertinent since the fall of totalitarian
countries in 1989. It was also Václav Havel who spoke about the
need to sacrifice a part of one’s personal happiness for the
benefit of higher ideals, and it was he who reminded the world of
the worsening state of the environment. He also repeated that it
can only be the “European spirit” that will help Czech society to
overcome the deep-rooted fear of other people. In one of his last
interviews, one of the things he mentioned was that the admission
of Ukraine and Belarus to the European Union might be one possible
future development of Europe.
The themes of “a common fabric” and “interweaving” may also be
found in the large tapestry made for the press room area by
Barbora Fastrová and Johana Pošová. The tapestry, hand-made from
cut pieces of second-hand textile over the course of an intensive
six months, uses a deliberately epic manner to depict the process
of recycling plastic bottles into textile fibres. The Overall
Office fashion design team used these types of fibres and other
residual fabrics to make the materials that Johana and Barbora
employed to make the seat cushions.
The chairs, tables, and stools used in the waiting areas and
meeting rooms of the Council building are modified pieces of old
and new furniture made from bentwood, which is a typical material
used in Central Europe. The use of wood scraps and shavings help
the individual pieces of furniture to come together, interweaving
and expanding them, thus evoking the concept of interconnectedness
and the resulting need to engage in a dialogue.
The collection of objects made by Jakub Choma, in collaboration
with Tomáš Kocka Jusko and Alex Selmeci, serves as a meeting place
– the info-centre of the entire project – a library, as well as a
place to sit down for visitors waiting in the area just beyond the
turnstiles until they are met by a staff member. The main object,
a monolithic shape partially created from layers of natural cork,
forms an association between layers of images and ideas. Even in
the other installations, Choma utilises something akin to
materialised information, somewhere between a real and a symbolic
object, in which ideas expressed in both pictures and words are
inscribed in each layer of the functional furniture.
The entire project is accompanied by a website which – as well as
the graphical representation of the flowery flag – was designed by
Jan Brož. This campaign also includes three videos. In the first,
Martin Kohout works with a computer-generated image that uses
inner rhythms to connect the image of flowers floating on a river
with a flowing stream of pedestrians.
The second, by Valentýna Janů, presents three connected feature
clips, which play with the options of false dichotomy and the
borders between dualisms, such as between private and public,
individual and global, or hope and pessimism. The clips suggest
that the dilemmas associated with these opposites may be false.
Then in the third, in his staged video, Jakub Jansa uses allegory,
a fairy-tale approach and humour to present the adventures of his
protagonist – a hybrid of a man and celery – to help to overcome
scepticism at a garden party. This humorous video also shows
viewers what life would be like if there were no European Union.
The costumes for the projects of both Jakub Jansa and Valentýna
Janů were once again made by Overall Office by combining remnants
left over from making shirts, ties, and evening jackets with
recycled textile fibres. They utilised the unique art protis
technique, which was developed in 1960s Czechoslovakia.
1 Kopretina 2 Neroli
3 Mučenka 4 Měsíček
5 Aloe Vera
6 Třezalka
7 Smetánka 8 Kozlík
9 Aksamitník
10 Bougainvillea
11 Slunečnice
12 Portulaca