Hand over Heels

Jindřich Chalupecký Society in collaboration with Art in General were proud to present the premiere of Hand over Heels, a performance by Barbora Kleinhamplová, the laureate of Jindřich Chalupecký Award 2015.
Kleinhamplovás's performance was presented in conjunction with AiG's exhibition "Danilo Correale: At Work’s End", which imagined a future without work. Hand over Heels took over Art in General’s office to reflect on the experience of work within institutional structures. It stemmed from research the artist has conducted on our contemporary relationship to labor and its uncertainties, and asked: what norms must we conform to, however unstable, in order to get by? What kind of work do we want to do? How do we measure and define our capacities?
Unfolding over the course of eight hours—the duration of a typical workday – performers recited excerpts from cover letters and psychosocial questionnaires relating to unpaid internships. Meanwhile, a giant pair of hands was inflated and deflated under the performer-workers’ supervision, simultaneously affirming and questioning our dominant labor systems today.

Barbora Kleinhamplová's practice is rooted in the relationship between
human existence and contemporary political and economic institutions, confronting this relationship through playful association and metaphor. Kleinhamplová often collaborates with people from different disciplines and professions, and uses existing forms of group interaction, such as therapy or coaching sessions, with both actors and non-actors. Presented as videos, installations, and performances, these semi-staged situations are a means by which to examine and test what constitutes a functioning society, and what the role of an individual is within its systems.

Barbora Kleinhamplová lives and works in Prague. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague and was the recipient of the 2015 Jindřich Chalupecký Award. Recent solo exhibitions and performances include MPEG Girl, Jeleni Gallery, Prague (2016); Meeting Expectations, 209, Brno; and Sleepers’ Manifesto, Armaturka, Ústí nad Labem (both 2014).
Recent group exhibitions include It Could Be a Community, KV Leipzig, Germany (2017); Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea; Ny Show #3, Ny Space, Manchester; Liturgie, Centre Tchèque, Paris; Telepathy or Esperanto?, Futura, Prague; and Subversive Tactics, The Czech Center New York (all 2015). Barbora was a resident artist at MMCA Seoul, South Korea in 2015 and at Gasworks, London in 2016, and she is currently in residence at Residency Unlimited, New York.

Art in General is a nonprofit contemporary art organization that assists artists with the production and presentation of new work. Founded in 1981 by artists, it has been a pioneering force unlike any other institution in New York City, supporting thousands of local and international artists early in their careers. Alongside Art in General’s exhibition programs that take place in New York and internationally, its public programs and publications examine critical and timely issues in artistic and curatorial practice. Offering support that will have a lasting impact on artists remains the cornerstone of its vision and programs.

Photo: Dario Lasagni

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