Anna Slama & Marek Delong

Holders of Jindřich Chalupecký Award 2020

"The work of Anna Slama and Marek Delong captivated the jury by its consistency and signature style. In their installations, the artistic duo uses an original visual language that is current for its multimedia character while strongly relying on traditional materials and craft methods. With their strong visual style, the artists call to mind the existence of the world of imagination, expressivity and the subconscious as a possible source of understanding as well as a possible form of personal or social therapy." (jury statement)

Anna Slama (*1991, Brno) and Marek Delong (*1986, Brno) form an artistic duo since 2015. Delong graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Brno Technical University (Video Studio), Slama graduated from Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm and went to several study stays, e.g. at Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn and Nagar School of Art in Jerusalem. In their artistic practice, they focus on installation, often assuming the dimensions of site-specific scenography, in which they embed their sculptures, objects, videos, and paintings. The duo has shown a long-term interest in emotional strain and return to sensitivity and genuineness of artworks. They create a space for therapy and distance from the anxiety of the current generation facing the pressures of predatory capitalism and the loss of a positive vision of future and hope. By their approach, they are escaping logic and calculation, employing elements of fairy tales, sensuality, and magic to create a space for vulnerability, intuition and unbiased navigation of the world. Delong and Slama regularly exhibit on the Czech and international gallery scenes, having recently introduced their work at CATBOX Contemporary in New York and FUTURA Center for Contemporary Art in Prague.