Viktor Dedek: Walking Speed, Table Height

“Today I dreamed of an object. I remember it precisely. It was similar to the low tables they use for tea ceremonies. It was made of varnished light yellow wood.” – Viktor Dedek

Viktor Dedek’s exhibition project was chosen as part of an international open-call, one of over 250 registered proposals for the Kostka Gallery. This thoughtful, poetic exhibition brings together original text and sculptural objects.

The resultant installation operates in a multi-level space. Fully awake, Dedek walks through the memory path of his dreams, observing their environments from a number of angles: marshes covered in mist, metro stations, abandoned buildings reminiscent of market stalls. The artist has an entire collection of dream environments – or rather, a digital archive. Rather than having pencil and paper lying on his bedside table, Dedek records his dreams into 3D software immediately after waking up. The dreamlike settings, which borrow aesthetic features from computer games and virtual reality, are then transferred to the gallery space. The table is the central motif of the exhibition. Dedek ascribes to it the symbolism of work, of a concentrated state, but also entertainment in the form of video games. The table is multiplied and transformed across the exhibition space. The workspace gradually transforms into less specific objects reminiscent of game-play elements: metal ramps, platforms, footbridges, arenas. Simply moving about in the exhibition space evokes movement in a virtual environment, the direction and progress of which is precisely delineated by its author, while the speed of movement and angle of sight can be determined by the visitor.

Viktor Dedek (*1993) studies at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (VŠUP), in the sculpture studio led by Dominik Lang and Edith Jeřábková. He has also spent time as an exchange student at the Universität für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, at the Academy of Visual Arts in Prague in the studio of Tomáš Vaněk, and at the visiting artist studio at VŠUP with Marie de Brugerolle. His work brings together sculptural principles with interests reaching over into literature, theatre and performance, computer games, and virtual reality. 

Artist: Viktor Dedek 
Curator: Eva Riebová
Exhibition opening: 1st August 2018 - the part of MeetFactory Soirée

Entry: Free

Photos: exhibition view by Tomáš Souček