Artworks – ZUZANA PUSTAIOVA

Safety Report

admin — Thu, 11 May 2023 07:03:59 +0000

Production of nuclear energy had been at the forefront of the energy industry in Slovakia for more than fifty years. The first (then-Czechoslovak) nuclear power plant (NPP) in Jaslovské Bohunice was completed in 1972, while the most recent facility, the so-called 3rd block of the NPP Mochovce started operating in January this year after 36 years of construction (!) and the 4th block is due to be completed in the next two years. Being formerly a showcase of technological achievement of the Eastern bloc during communism, the nuclear energy industry has recently been privatized, first by the state-owned Italian energy giant, and later by domestic private investors. The construction of the 3rd and the 4th block of Mochovce, valued more than 6 billion euro, is by far the largest investment in the history of the country.

It is only natural that during the more-than-half-a-century history of nuclear energy production, many conflicting views on the topic emerged. On the one hand, the NPPs are a relatively cheap source of energy, providing stability to the power grid Europe-wide, and a considerable financial profit to the owners, and via taxation, to the government. Moreover, production of nuclear energy was always connected to a certain kind of national pride. Political views also play a role. Considerable part of Slovak citizens oppose EU-sanctioned environmental policies such as the Green Deal, being perceived as harmful for the economy and broader national interests.

On the other hand, there has been a long-term criticism mainly due to the environmental and safety issues. Especially strong is the public voice in the neighboring Austria, leading to a nearly absolute dismissal of this energy source by the political leadership as well as various activist groups and environmental organizations. Many industry experts and scientists regularly assure that the nuclear facilities are safe to operate, but given the sad reality of the nuclear disasters in Chernobyl in 1986 and in Fukushima in 2011, the concerns amongst general public persist.

Zuzana Pustaiová, the author of this project, was born near the NPP Mochovce a couple of years after its construction started, and lived there until coming of age. During her upbringing, she witnessed the better and the worse times of the facility. Relocation of local inhabitants (the whole former village of Mochovce was demolished, owing to the construction), local newspaper articles discussing the NPP’s safety and security, public protests, but also economic growth, as many locals, including Pustaiová’s relatives and friends, have been employed in the power plant through the years.

For her entire life, Pustaiová’s attitude to the NPP Mochovce, and nuclear energy as such, has been ranging from reluctant acceptance of the NPP’s existence to the hard-to-control feelings of anxiety, having concerns related to the safety of the power plant. She researched articles in the historical newspapers and led informal conversations with the current and former NPP employees, gathering accounts of various safety incidents that actually happened but never made it to the public. She quickly found out that it is practically impossible for her, not being a nuclear nor environmental expert, to objectively assess and judge the risks related to NPP operation and the potential impact of the incidents she heard of. She therefore decided to reflect artistically the ways in which public opinion (including her own) on the NPP is formed, rather than concentrate on the scientific background. The nuclear power plant’s complexity is immense, in some aspects perhaps inconceivable even by experienced professionals, let alone general public. Although the safety of operation is controlled by government agencies, and the quality of publicly available information and scientific data has much improved, other ways of informing public do exist. These are ranging from gossip through imprecise communication of the media about safety risks, through deliberate manipulation and maybe even concealing of evidence in order to keep the public debate under control and, ultimately, maintain economic and political power. Although some of these accounts may seem anecdotal, historical accidents have been investigated and documented, and they teach us to be vigilant. Not only do nuclear accidents cause deaths, injuries, environmental damage and economic losses. They also have dire political implications, hence a strong need for public scrutiny that is likely to be opposed by some of the stakeholders.

Branislav Štepánek
curator

Apocalyptic View (2020)
The view from the hill Veľký Inovec (901 m). „I visit this place with my friends very often. Most of the time we buy hot bean soup, tea with rum, and then we sit on a bench in front of a tourist stall and talk. As we enjoy the amazing view, we joke that in the event of a nuclear accident, we’d like to watch the apocalyptic scene from here, from this incredibly calm/soothing place.“

Model Situation (2023)
A photograph of a woman in makeshift protection gear might strike us as ridiculous. The idea behind the photograph is to ironically reflect the fact that most of the inhabitants living in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant have no idea how to behave in the event of a nuclear incident. Nonetheless, a protective suit such as the one depicted here is extremely effective, and even the best option among materials readily available in a domestic context. Although plastic does not prevent the penetration of of gamma rays, it can be very effective in preventing radioactive dust particles from coming into contact with clothing and skin. After leaving the contaminated zone, the suit must, however, be rinsed thoroughly with running water such that the particles are washed away. This significantly diminishes their devastating effect on living tissue.

Fuel Loading (2022)
On May 13, 2021, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic issued a license to commission Unit 3 of the Mochovce nuclear power plant. This decision was preceded by a number of technical checks and tests. Fuel loading in Unit 3 was executed between September 9 and September 12, 2022, using the strictest safety measures.

Slovenské elektrárne, the company which owns the nuclear power plant Mochovce, informs the public regularly on activities at the nuclear facilities through short informational videos published on the Internet. These are intended to display the openness and professional care with which employees, plant management and regulatory authorities carry out their responsibilities by ensuring the safety of the nuclear power infrastructure.

Power Plant Employee
Ľubomír (1983-2024), team leader in the Republic Repository of Radioactive Waste.
Is working for a nuclear power plant safe? According to Kate Brown in her book Chernobyl: A Survival Guide (2019) : “High doses of radiation cause capillary contraction on the skin’s surface, making faces appear unnaturally white, as if powdered.”

Obsession
The silhouette of the hundred-and-twenty-five-meter high cooling towers set in an undulating landscape gives an impression of divine perfection. Just looking at them can become an obsession.
„I look at the towers every time I return home. I walk around them and take pictures from different angles and in different weather conditions, even though photography of nuclear power plant structures is strictly forbidden.“

Danger: Explosion
The image of an explosion is a characteristic visual sign symbolizing danger. Although explosives have predominantly peaceful uses, they make headlines mainly in connection with armed conflicts, industrial or natural disasters.
The red title reads: “Will the atomic plant be safe?” If a photograph of dynamite exploding a field obstacle is accompanied by a suggestive newspaper headline referring to the safety of a nuclear device, a significant portion of readers will begin to feel fear. The emotional response to danger has been calibrated by evolution over millions of years, and it suppresses rationality in humans regardless of education and social status.

T V N O V I N Y, J A N U A R Y 1 5 , 2 0 2 5
Do people feel safe living in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant? When TV news features what appear to be interviews with random individuals, the media invariably generate a biased perspective that supports a particular view of the NPP. Viewers of such news coverage should exercise critical judgment and grasp the underlying context.

Safety Report (2022)
The International Atomic Energy Agency has been conducting a regular assessment of the pre-operational safety of the nuclear power plant Mochovce, Unit 3. In an executive summary, it identifies areas where Unit 3 management has demonstrated good performance in implementing operational safety improvements. It also includes a number of recommendations to further improve the plant’s safety.
The implementation of corrective actions is a highly professional activity. If the summary is read by lay readers or a journalist who has not studied nuclear facilities in depth, they may get the impression of increased threat, though only an expert is able to assess the actual level of risk. A responsible approach by journalists is required in processing and publishing information on nuclear risks. The public should address their potential concerns to the institutions designated for this purpose and not spread alarmist messages on social networks and among acquaintances.

Homage to Library

admin — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 08:53:57 +0000

Štiavnica’s little Antiquarian Bookshop is the type of space that is almost automatically and inseparably considered part of the town’s cultural landscape. Not only locals from Štiavnica, but also occasional tourists can always return here – to warm up in winter, to recharge their spiritual and creative energy, or simply to treat themselves to the joy of buying a book. However, this idyllic view may clash with the cold economic and sociodemographic reality. The space continues to serve a devoted but ever-shrinking group of readers and customers. It seems as if visiting an antiquarian bookshop is gradually becoming a niche affair, reserved for the most ardent literature enthusiasts.

The goods displayed in the shop represent only a small part of its library collection. Most of the publications, acquired through purchases and donations, are stored in a warehouse on the outskirts of Banská Štiavnica. Books, magazines, prints, maps, and all sorts of printed materials – along with packaging supplies or objects related to books – pile up here on shelves packed from floor to ceiling. This very space became the basis for a site-specific exhibition paying tribute to books, libraries, bookshops, and readers alike.

The photographic works were created by the artist Zuzana Pustaiová with the intention of exhibiting them directly in the bookshop, further densifying an already intricately structured space. This intention is underlined by the sophisticated composition of the photographs taken in the warehouse. The attentive viewer will surely notice that these are not straightforward photographs, but photographic collages in which individual partial images are layered upon each other to form a unified, monumental space dominated by the object of the book. The collages are complemented by playful “portraits” of library paraphernalia such as ladders, rolls of tape, or banana boxes, photographed against a plain white background. These illustrate the work of booksellers while also referencing the fact that sometimes preserving cultural heritage requires very little – for example, those banana boxes in which books can hibernate for years, waiting to be rediscovered.

A viewer might quite logically ask: what is the point of exhibiting photographs of books from an overcrowded warehouse in an already crowded bookshop? Each visitor can find their own answer, but perhaps we may suggest that the exhibition can remind us of how important books once were in the life of an individual and of society – for acquiring knowledge, cultural awareness, or literary sensibility. Today, this role has been (partially) relinquished and replaced by other sources of content – for the younger generation, primarily audio and video content on social media. This only makes it clearer that book culture has its irreplaceable place in society, and it is up to us, the readers, whether we manage to continue cultivating and developing it.

Branislav Štěpánek
curator

© 2025 | variable sizes

Random Home Constellations

admin — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 07:44:01 +0000

What does home mean?

Home is a space that is difficult to capture in words—both random and unique at the same time. It’s less of a physical location and more of a constellation of emotions, feelings, and structures. It can be a fleeting sensation or a deep-rooted connection, shaped by the people, objects, and atmospheres that surround us.

Random Home Constellations is a series of collages inspired by images of homes found in magazines, alongside pictorial fragments from places where author felt a partial sense of home. The process of collecting and assembling these images is an attempt to map out the intangible, bringing together fragments of familiarity into a unified visual constelation. While the visuals are universal, the emotional connection remains the strongest element—bridging the gap between the personal and the collective.

The collage shapes can be interpreted as abstract floorplans—flat or housing layouts—reflecting the fragmented nature of what home can represent. The irregular forms reflect the often irrational layout of a floor plan devoid of functionality. Each piece incorporates a photographic element of a structure, serving as a metaphor for the diverse emotions tied to the idea of home—whether it be heaviness, pressure, calmness, or comfort. These structures become anchors in the compositions, holding together the more fluid, emotional layers. Pastel-toned backgrounds create a subtle link to the soft, familiar colors often used in wall paintings, reinforcing the connection to domestic spaces and personal memories. The delicate hues suggest a sense of nostalgia—an invitation to reflect on the sensory impressions of places that have shaped our understanding of home.

Through this series, author explores the ways in which home is both a fixed and fluid concept—a constellation that shifts and evolves with time, memory, and experience.

Strange Realities

admin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:45:48 +0000

Strange Realities (2024) disrupts our perception of authenticity and what makes a given space unique and a moment memorable. They show the relationship of the observer to place and time, and at the same time pretend the warped reality of our observation, expectation and experience to reality.

If we were asked if we preferred something—anything—“real” or “fake,” most of us would choose the former with little hesitation. We all love the prospect of meeting authentic people, places and things. But what it means to be authentic is ambiguous. Scientists have been trying to find the answer for years. Over the course of the 20th century, debates have evolved from an understanding of authenticity as a fixed material quality, an originality that objects either have or not, to a context-dependent quality that essentially relies on the eye of the beholder.

Thinking about authenticity as a relationship between people, meanings and places helps reveal its spatial implications. Authenticity may be vague and unattainable, but it drives our individual and collective behavior in significant ways, and is therefore seen as a motivation to seek out any experience. At the same time, however, it is true that the authentic is always socially constructed.

Project was produced during the one month residency in Tuscany (Italy) in april 2024, provided by Eva Kahán Foundation.

Heaven on Earth

admin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 08:56:11 +0000

In the summer of 1831, Archduke Franz Karl and Archduchess Sophie brought their young son, Franz Joseph, to Bad Ischl, where he celebrated his first birthday – a tradition that continued for more than 80 years. Franz Joseph referred to his summers as the „heavenly abode in Ischl.“ To this day, the emperor’s birthday is celebrated in Bad Ischl on August 18th with a grand ceremony.

While in the past, visitors came to witness and pay hommage to their monarch during these celebrations, nowadays, many visitors come to Ischl with the urge to capture every moment in the memory of their phones. Many visitors frantically record videos of the arrival of the „emperor and empress,“ while others strive to secure the best position for a photograph at any cost. The absurdity of the situation is accentuated by scenes where you can see only mobile phones above the heads of the visitors. A striking image of the current „heavenly stay“ in Ischl.

The project incorporates typical colors of the Habsburg monarchy, such as yellow, black, red, gold as a symbol of luxury, as well as blue and green, the typical colors of uniforms and traditional men’s clothing.

There is Something Wrong in This World

admin — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 09:01:47 +0000

„There is Something Wrong in This World” (since 2023) is a project that deals with the emotions, psychological fragility, and the pervasive chaos that characterizes our contemporary society. At its core, this endeavor employs the medium of flower still lifes to convey a narrative.

Within the context of the contemporary world, where rapid advancements in technology, social unrest, and shifting societal values constantly reshape our existence, the fragility of our emotions is both amplified and overlooked. There is Something Wrong in This World seeks to confront this dichotomy head-on, shedding light on the nuanced complexities that often go unnoticed amidst the chaos. Through eclectic attention to detail and composition, the project captures the ephemerality of emotions and the transient nature of human existence. Each carefully arranged still life photograph becomes a window into the ever-changing emotional landscape of our times.

Moreover, the juxtaposition of vibrant blooms with subtle decay within the still lifes serves as a reminder that emotional fragility does not equate to weakness. Instead, it celebrates the resilience and transformative potential inherent within our emotional vulnerabilities. By embracing our fragility, we tap into the wellspring of our inner strength and cultivate a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.

Masks

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 22:27:03 +0000

The project Masks (since 2020) is a visual research of the question “How many second I do we have?”. Based on the dramaturgical sociology of Erwing Goffmann and theory of wearing masks in everyday life I’m looking for many of my second I.

Masks are in fact self-hybridizations of a woman’s (and generally human’s) natural appearance with what she/he is expected to look like by “society”. But who or what is a “ society” here? An abstract entity that is impossible to encompass nor comply with. And yet, so many people are eager to satisfy the society’s expectations, considering them natural, without even thinking about the root concept, which yields just the opposite – artificiality in behavior and restraint in personal freedom.

The sociologist Robert Ezra Park wrote in his text Race and Culture (1950) this idea which describe my topic in the best possible way:

“It is probably no mere historical accident that the word person, in its first meaning, is a mask. It is rather a recognition of the fact that everyone is always and everywhere, more or less consciously, playing a role… It is in these roles that we know each other; it is in these roles that we know ourselves. […] In a sense, and in so far as this mask represents the conception we have formed of ourselves – the role we are striving to live up to – this mask is our truer self, the self we would like to be. In the end, our conception of our role becomes second nature and an integral part of our personality. We come into the world as individuals, achieve character, and become persons.”

One Day Every Day

admin — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 11:10:25 +0000

In my oeuvre, I have been exploring how a commonplace routine, stereotypes, social interactions and role-playing affects our existence, relationships, and ultimately, our lives.

Titled One Day Every Day, it deals with inability to escape the social pressure imposed by the world of politics, media, and digital presence of people and things. The (social) expectations how to behave, what to do, how to react in certain situations evolve rapidly and often diverge from what we have inherited, how we were educated, how our environment had shaped us, how our moral compass had been calibrated during youth. It is this mixture of behavioral patterns that we seem unable to tackle, and on the other hand, new, accelerated forms of mutual influence, that make up most of the uncertainty/volatility/ fluidity in our lives.

By applying the notion of functional fixedness (using an object only in accordance with its intention) to human interactions, I re-conceptualize the fixedness to a mere individuals’ existence in the contemporary time and space – to certain roles, behavioral patterns, common typologies etc. I seek the boundaries where the traditional usefulness of routine becomes pathological. Masks are in fact self-hybridizations of a woman’s (and generally human’s) natural appearance with what she/he is expected to look like by “society”. So many people are eager to satisfy the society’s expectations, considering them natural, without even thinking about the root concept, which yields just the opposite – artificiality in behavior and restraint in personal freedom.

© 2020-2022

*this is a selection of the series

Long text

Interlude

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 11:27:05 +0000

The project Interlude is examining the current status of the allocation from the biological family and the formation of the new family. It is located somewhere on between social expectations, current emotional survival and the search for life direction. I construct tension, uncertainty caused by the ambient pressure in their daily survival through staged self-portraits in a domesticated environment, still-lifes reflecting the home and housework and environments. It’s a space, period and condition which is different from what comes before and after it.

© 2020

67 black & white analogue photographs

book dummy: 128 pages / 17,5 x 24 cm

Faces of Family

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 15:00:22 +0000

What is a family?

A family is a small social group made out of individuals, and also an environment which we are most bound to, and which influences us a great deal. A family can encompass various forms, faces, emotions, and moods.

Looking at my family, I find and examine many layers which create one whole picture of my close relatives. Each look I take shows me different faces in different moods, and encourages to venture into yet undiscovered areas.

Some of the photographic lines in the series uncover the relationships between my family members, which are natural for every human. They show ordinary, everyday family life, but I also capture the coldness, which can occur between my relatives and me. The way in which the portrayed subject perceives their relationship towards me can be seen in the emotion of the sequential portraits. As years go by, our relationships and memories are transformed similarly to how the structure of the family changes. Some memories are just a fragment of what remains, as a kind of reference to things which can illustrate our relationships, others are a glimpse of a moment, and there are some which to this day look like tableaux.

The faces of family change according to which angle we are observing them from. From each side it seems different, and yet it is just one. Family.

© 2017

Family Album

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 15:03:39 +0000

The series Family Album (2013 – ongoing) is based on the artist’s family archive. Pustaiová picks photographs from the archive and amends them with handicraft artefacts of the past and the present – lace, color stickers, matches, feathers, millimeter paper, with a sense of irony. The deliberately decorative character of the interventions and the context in which they are found constructs an intelligent commentary on the gender stereotypes of the typical Central European family. Pustaiová is not the only artist working with the photographic archive. However, where others express themselves with deadly seriousness, Pustaiová’s style is easy, without the unnecessary oversimplification and distraction of the conceptual depth of the subject matter.

Branislav Štěpánek

21×30 cm; collages and assamblages
Series consist currently from more than 100 images.

Trivial Stories

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 15:03:39 +0000

Using the staged photography technique I create my imaginary world where I go beyond the borders of reality, erasing the line between the inside and the outside. These two worlds meet in my Trivial stories, simple stories that take place where no one would expect them.

I work with spaces, objects and actors who are members of my family. I ́m also trying to show how financial inequality means that, for example, old people don ́t have enough money to travel. Present-day people mostly live in cities, walled in without any contact with nature. They like to go on trips, watch movies about the countryside, have some plants in the house, grow a little garden in front of their block of flats and so on, but they don ́t have any real contact with nature.

My grandparents live a village life, but they live in a small city, where they have a garden and a vineyard to care of, but they have neither money nor the energy for traveling.

© 2012

Trivial Stories 2

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 15:03:39 +0000

Trivial Stories 2 continues to Trivial Stories – Trip to Mountains (2012) where I collaborated with my grandparents. Using the staged photography I create my imaginary world where I go beyond the borders of reality, I erase a line between the inside and the outside. These two worlds meet in my Trivial stories, simple stories which takes the place where no one would expect them.

Playing games is natural thing in our life. As first, we play in our childhood, next when we have own children and then the last time in a old age with the grandchildren.

Winter Games are in the basic based on a memories from my childhood and a time spent with my grandparents during the winter time. We played together, we made snow mans, we went to lake few meters from my grandparents house for ice skating, we played ice hockey, etc. After few years I decided remake this memories in real photographs in their house and I join to the stories more winter games.

Next layer of Winter Games is body. Old people are in our society on the periphery of social life and their body „can’t“ be uncover. But in a deep of our minds we are still time children who don’t care to be uncover and they are full of raw happiness.

Many people don’t like the winter. The Snow queen fade away, as we people, but she doesn’t die. A humor and an absurdity, medicine for every winter, relieving the annoyance of this period.

© 2012 – 2015

Disturbing Beauty

admin — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:56:52 +0000

Confrontation of person with something new might produce impressions of restlessness. From time to time, man changes own sphere of activity, leaves home up to now, goes away and recognize new, nice, strange. Person is in new space, which is trying to be compensation by home, but this new „home“ causes solitude feelings. Person notices everyday banalities, which is displayed before the eyes from day-to-day. These imperceptible things of needs by daily routine bring microscopic moments of bliss, warm feeling of home. On the another side, this small infatuation is often changes to feeling of loneliness and solitude. Person meets many people, recognizes new faces, finds friends, however he or she feels insecure. Disturbing beauty is reflection of impressions. It wants to show, that things which are at fist view nice and pretty, have the ability to be disturbing and full of hesitance or halved.

© 2016 / Germany

Trivial Stories

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 15:03:39 +0000

I show my parents. They live in city since Monday till Friday, during the weekend in village. Here they care about garden and house.
Stories about them are simple situations of works in garden, house and vacation during the weekend in paradox with city life.

© 2012

Untitled Holiday

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 15:13:03 +0000

Photographs from family vacations at the sea reveal usual gender, social and social stereotypes. Summer vacation in every family doesn’t happen without the using of instant scheme of capturing the moments. We can observe similar images of a places, landscape views and group portraits. The „essential“ importance of the site is lost in an effort to capture a unique moment. In the way of combining photographs of summer vacation of family at the sea which were taken over a decade I open a theme of copying, otherwise I said the repetition, my own history, when the partial change of people and the environment in the picture does not change its original content. Let me introduce the „Untitled Holiday“.

2019 (ongoing)

My Great Grandpa Was Famous Tailor in Pest

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 15:03:39 +0000

For Zuzana Pustaiova ‚s photography is characteristic using old, complicated techniques through which she follows some certain story and also she reaches nostalgic atmosphere. Pustaiova delimits motifs on her surroundings and family, whereas she long term works with family history. That is the also case of the exhibited series in which she Works with the story of her great grandfather. Pustaiova is trying to be closer with him by skilled craftsmanship. She creates the cycle of photos on textile which consists of three portraits of family members and of abstract part in that she researched her surrounding environment. Pustaiova completes photographic image with needlework. The all used technigues in this series testifies about her intimate and sensitive work through which she has a dialogue with her great grandfather that she could not know personally.

Mária Janušová, 2016

© 2013

Embroidery brom-silver photography on textile

Each Country – Its Customs

admin — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 16:49:08 +0000

Nowadays, it is becoming more and more persistent trend in returning to the lifestyle and values of our grandparents. Contemporary generation is searching for elements of Slovak folk culture and transmits it to common life. Even though the culture of a nation is closely linked to each individual, the way of life is not enrooted directly in the mind. It is a sort of play on something, that a few decades ago was a natural part of everyday life. In many cases, it is the absurdity, in a certain measure the pose, created by a change of mind, defense against consumerism and globalized way of life in contemporary society.

© 2015

ČIĽ – EJ!

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 15:03:39 +0000

All regions in our country have a typical folk clothing. Čiľejkár mikroregion is situate near left side of river Hron. Residents, who live in this villages, speak with soft central-slovak dialect. They says “čiľ / čiľej / čiľeky” instead of “now”. Woman clothing was decorated with ribbons, laces, glass beads, pearl beads and spangles. It was separed by opportunity, clothes for everyday wearing, solemn or mourning garbes. Unmarried girl wore other clothes, they get married under “párta”and married womans wore so-called “rohatý čepiec”.

Garb was clothing for people from village. This clothing and my project is connected with everyday works in the past. Life was hard, however people enjoy life at full blast and they had smile on faces.

Starting point is situated in the ethnographic photography in Slovakia, which adressed Pavol Socháň in the second half of the 19th century.

© 2013

Gardeners

admin — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 01:15:41 +0000

My project is about german people who care about their garden. A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. I chosen only people from private space with private gardens or yards.

Description of gardener means, that: „A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the homeowner supplementing the family food with a small vegetable garden or orchard, to an employee in a plant nursery or the head gardener in a large estate.“

I was unbelievably fascinated by local gardens, when I moved to Germany. In Slovakia, gardens are mainly intended for growing vegetables and plants. Naturally, every house has got some small front yard with flowers, small trees and bushes. Here I saw many lush plants, front yards have many cropped bushes into some balls or other shapes. Stuff as plastic animals, dwarfs and cupids of stone which many people use for their nicer garden, looks many times kitschy and funny.

Typological elements are typical in portrait photography in Germany. I was inspired by August Sander’s precise work, where he made typological portraits of many groups, which he made. In the series „Gardeners“ I combine this typological elements of portrait and my sense of humor.

© 2016 / Germany

(Not) Alive

admin — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 21:29:50 +0000

The topics of rescue attempt of the World, unavoidable recovery, cleaning the oceans from plastics or hack of the forests in protected areas or national parks is during the present days more and more discussed topic. Photography project (Not) Alive researches border between natural and unnatural. The main idea of the project is confrontation between alive and not alive, natural and unnatural. What is able to do human power and power of the nature? When will come breaking point and who will command whom? Will the nature imitate the human or the human will imitate the nature?

2018
50×70 cm, digital print, dibond

Greifswald

admin — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 18:16:06 +0000

One of the few stories about where the name of Greifswald comes from is a following story:

„The location, where nowadays lies the city of Greifswald was once upon a time a large and thick forest. Everything around it was desolate without a trace of human activity and only the area around the Eldena Monastery which was located near river mouth of Ryk into the sea was thriving. The monks of the monastery wated to build a city that would be near the Monastery itself, however further from the coast and so they sent a couple of people to search for a fitting place for the city. These went upstream of the river Ryk until they reached a beautiful place, which they simply found splendid for the city creation. Therefore they ventured sideways from the shore of the river into the nearby forest to explore the area in more detail. Suddenly they found a nest atop a broken tree trunk and sitting in it was a large four-footed double-tailed brooding Griffin. The representatives of the Monastery saw this as a good omen which strengthened their resolutions to build the city here which also came to pass.“

I was fascinated and inspired by the city when I arrived. To follow the story of a building the city I decided to build my own vision of the Greifswald.

© 2019

A series „Greifswald“ is result of residence in STP Galerie.

The winner of the second place of the 6th international photo competition „Different Worlds 2018“ organised by Photon Gallery, Zuzana Pustaiova was awarded a 10-day residency at the renowned German Galerie STP in Greifswald run by the competition’s jury member Dr Peter Konschake. The annual competition is aimed at young photographers up to the age of 35 from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Preview

admin — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 16:36:31 +0000

What will the future bring to our creative lives? How will we think about the pictures? Ongoing impact of the technology brings to us the questions how can programs change our idea by themselves. When is the border between what we want to say with our artworks and what want to the computer says? During a work on the different projects I saw same errors many times. I took a pictures of these problems because they totally changed meaning of each picture and brought to me the question where is the border between the person and the computer. Each photography has got background in different artworks but they have something common. An impact of something what we can’t capture. Will technology bring to us new progress how to see and work with photography? Will the camera or the program command us not we them? Let to see what gonna happend.

© 2016 – ongoing