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The title of the exhibition was inspired by the film of the same name from 1953 by director Josef Mach. In addition to a display of Slovakia’s most beautiful traditions, customs, costumes, songs and natural beauty, the film also displays ideologically tainted content . We are interested in the phenomenon of using folklorism in the 20th century for propaganda purposes and at the same time the development and influence of the original folklore by historical events or cinematography. At the exhibition in the Berlinskej Model, we will exhibit a selection of our works created by the folk technique of pyrography, which, in addition to the folklore, also engages with the popularity of superstitions, pagan customs and occultism in former Czechoslovakia.

The art duo Jarmila Mitríková (* 1986) and Dávid Demjanovič (* 1985) are graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava (2011). Jarmila studied in the ceramics studio of Ivica Vidrová and in the painting studio of Ivan Csudai. She specializes in painting and ceramics. Dávid studied in Anton Čierný’s APK + studio, where he is currently studying in a doctoral program. In his independent work, he focuses on installations, videos, objects and performances. Since 2009, they have been collaborating on joint works, where they use, among other things, the traditional technique of pyrography. At the turn of 2013/14, they completed an 8-month residency at Meetfactory. They currently live and work in Košice.