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
