Daučíková, Anna : Untitled (1) (1988)

Lambda print, Fujicolor Chrystal Archive DP II Matt paper ed. 1/3 + 1 AP
Long-term loan from the Peter und Irene Ludwig Stiftung, Aachen, 2018
Keywords

ANNA DAUČIKOVA is a pioneer of feminist and queer art in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. She was one of the founders of the feminist magazine Aspekt in 1991 and one of the most influential figures in the queer movement as an artist and academic. Her three black and white selfportraits were taken in her studio at three different times, decades apart. In the earliest photo, taken in 1988, Daučikova holds a construction made of industrial waste and wire that wraps around her head in her mouth. She hides her face behind the scribble-like figure, her mouth pressed shut – a situation that suggests her state of mind during perestroika. During the “glasnost”, the KGB’s terrible crimes were revealed, but at the same time, during a period of intense social debate and change, the artist began a process of conscious self-discovery.