In the exhibition Again Against Again we can find ourselves together in the digital space. The moment you put on imaginary VR goggles and are transported into a world that you perceive through the lens of the aesthetics of 80s B-grade sci-fi films, satirically working with a fascinating notion of how ultra-futuristic we used to imagine the future. This is written all over the visuals - the crystalline objects thus form simple game assemblages that, in their colour and shape, recall the visual language of early computer games. Also present at the opening is an NPC character attaching a scarf, fixing the space of the sporting environment.

The main element of the exhibition is a video essay in which we find ourselves at a tournament of the digi-card game Beecarbonize, where players are tackling the climate crisis. We critically observe the effect that top-level sport and growing up playing it can have on the social relationships of an 11-year-old boy - specifically, his relationship with his parents in this environment.

In David Mišťúrik's works, we can observe how the ironic detachment that is typical of internet culture meets raw honesty. As a result, I often find myself watching his work on the edge of whether I am watching a cleverly constructed satire or touching on something very personal. It is in this grey area that many of us find ourselves in the context of digital media. For me, Mišťúrik's work accurately captures what I think of as the "chronically online" phenomenon, where our boundaries of what is private and what is for greedy algorithms are practically blurring.

David employs the aesthetics of the digital age and makes full use of the language familiar from social media, YouTube, and video games. His work is such a probe into the mechanisms of contemporary visual culture. He works mostly with video art and performance.

But at the same time, we can see a strong social critique in his works, for example in the REALITY SHOWCASE trilogy, which he exhibited at the TIC Gallery in Brno. Here he worked with the meaning of the word REALITY. On the one hand this refers to my favourite trash TV guilty pleasure format of reality shows, but on the other hand it also refers to the real estate market. It thus comments on the current housing crisis and the privileged nature of the art world.

Among other things, the artist is actively involved in strengthening the Brno community as co-curator of the music and projection series Screening.13, which takes place in the spaces of Rello and offers a curated selection of contemporary moving image, often with an overlap into music and sound. And he has also collaborated with collectives such as Terrain and D'epog. His work was part of Other Visions at the PAF festival here in Olomouc.

curators: Klára Pospíšilová, Veronika Brandecká

text: Klára Pospíšilová