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Second skin

Irena Jůzová reprises her 'designer collection' in Prague
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By Tony Ozuna
For The Prague Post
February 20th, 2008 issue

Irena Jůzová: Collection Series

at Veletržní palác Ends March 30. Dukelských hrdinů 47, Prague 7–Holešovice. Open Tues.–Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

In the Czech and Slovak national pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale, Czech artist Irena Jůzová exhibited herself as a true-to-life body of transparent skin, cast in Lukopren. This piece has returned home and is now on display at Veletržní palác as part of a larger “designer collection” of Jůzová’s work.
At the entrance to the exhibition, there is a body cast still in its casings. Around a corner is the centerpiece of the show, Jůzová’s full-body cast, molded of thin, transparent “skin.” This skin is encased in a tall glass cylinder on a pedestal made of cardboard. In its original form, the body was firm with its head upright. Now, after its journey back home, it has lost its luster. Its head flops down to one side, and both arms are torn; one has come loose at the shoulder, while the other is dangling, though both are stitched together with fine white ribbon.
Jůzová, who graduated from Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts in 1994, has also encased a variety of her individual body parts, cast in clear “skin,” in smaller glass boxes and on cardboard pedestals. The body parts have straps displaying her “brand name” (her name), and all of the cardboard pieces are stenciled with a designer-style logo. Atop other pedestals are fashionable cardboard purses, all from the Irena Jůzová line. There are also technical drawings and sketches of the pavilion floor plan made by the artist.
Loose piles of boxes marked with Jůzová’s brand name are scattered around the exhibition space. Constructed in various shapes and sizes, some of them look as though they could be for designer take-away pizza, or larger items.
In short, the concept of the project is no less than a packaging of the artist herself as a “designer collection.” Jůzová presents herself as a luxury item and a national product, shipped off to Venice last fall to be product-placed in the most prestigious arena of the international art world.
On display in a glass case here, Jůzová exposes herself to be examined, admired and consumed — or scorned, or simply ignored. In a separate room, a video of the original exhibit in Venice is meant to be running, showing visitors’ reactions to the work. Unfortunately, the projector isn’t always functioning. During a recent visit, only the sound was running, playing a loud, Glenn Branca–like orchestral buzz, but without any video image.
For the Prague version of the exhibit, Jůzová (born in 1965 in Hradec Králové) has also added photos documenting her collaboration with workers to create the skin cast. In these photos, she looks more like a successful businesswoman, or an actress playing that role, than a typical artist. She strikes the same pose in magazine and newspaper articles about her project, which are displayed on the gallery walls.
The best variation on the presentation of the artist’s skin is displayed in a large glass case at the edge of the space. In this showcase, Jůzová’s skin is folded up in a box ready to be shipped, like merchandise from a store. The box opens on one side like a modern shoebox, although its function is closer to that of a coffin.
Jůzová isn’t a well-known artist, either at home or on the international scene. So her debut in Venice as a brand and a collection series, offered for sale in its entirety or just in parts, was a cynical gesture — but it was also a keen move in today’s contemporary art world. Jůzová is offering her own nude female body for exhibition (and for sale), though the body parts themselves seem sexless.
Thus the combination of latex skin, glass, pedestals and designer boxes in the sterile space of Veletržní palác creates something like a cross between a high-tech science lab and a luxury boutique, which is what most upper-end art galleries in the West feel like, anyway.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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