SMASH

Performance, 2024

Josefine Pytlik‘s Performance »SMASH« is a continuation of her serial group of works titled »MULTIMOTHERMEGASPHEREbabycumulationspheres«. Drawing on her characteristic repertoire of forms, she presents wax sculptures in a site-specific installation during the initial phase of the work. These forms function as extensions of her body, both formally and conceptually. They are not merely literal imprints of her own mouth but also expressions of the ‚organs‘ of her relationships. These sculptures originate from Pytlik‘s own conceptual model, wherein corporeal forms symbolise human encounters. The artist views these interactions as dynamic processes wherein each participant absorbs impulses from the others.
In the second part of the performance, Pytlik liberates herself from these impulses through a forceful gesture: she destroys and shatters the wax sculptures. For the artist, this action represents a constructive emancipation in her personal development, contrasting with the visually forceful act of destruction. Central to Pytlik here is the departure from the old, and simultaneously the new beginning inherent in every farewell. In the third segment of the performance, the artist describes what remains as a fresh start leading to something new.
The transition between before and after also manifests visually: the red colour reminiscent of bloodstains can be interpreted as a relic of transformation. Contrasted with the noble white fabric, it lends the entire performance a festive and almost ceremonial appearance.

Ric Schmerz

Video: Barbara Karrer, Andreas Pytlik, Josefine Pytlik
Fotos: Ilvie Schlotfeldt