Nóra Juhász: Dark Side of the Moon

2022, January 6-26
Puccs Contemporary Art
[VIII. Budapest, Víg st. 22.]
Insight Project

“In 2010, when I was sixteen, I went to New York, and in New York, I went to the Museum of Modern Art. My visit there coincided with that of a woman with long black hair; she was sitting on a chair, facing another person, and more people were standing about watching as they sat there facing each other. At the time I did not know, and would not have cared anyway, that what I saw was the performance The Artist is Present, and the woman, of whom I only saw the back, was Marina Abramović.

I moved on towards the exhibition halls.

At roughly the same time in Iceland the volcano called Eyjafjallajökull erupted, and emitted such great amount of dust and soot into the air, that air traffic between Europe and America was shut down for days. Our return journey was cancelled, I rejoiced. I was alone with my joy, as the volcanic ash, that indicated adventure, freedom and novelty to me, meant danger, unpredictability, financial problems, failed responsibilities, loneliness, isolation and abandonment on this unknown land for the adults around me.

This installation was not inspired by Marina Abramović. However, in essential aspects it does show significant similarity to the performance in MoMa that I might not stop to watch today either. An exposed and bounded look constitutes one part of it; and as in the case of Abramović, I would ruin its essence if I described what actually happens.

In the end, a brave airplane did cross to this hemisphere with us on board, and was not disturbed by the dark volcanic fog a bit. The journey took less time than on the way there; as the known part of the world turned under us, and the other to our back.”

Nóra Juhász (1993, Budapest) graduated from Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Faculty of Painting in 2019, where they studied applied stage design as well. In 2018, they were a Campus Mundi fellow at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
In their paintings and installations collides associative signs and elements; through their works of different mediums they build a coherent visual world which is characterised by strict planning as well as playfulness and fantasy. Spatiality is a significant factor in their projects; beside their artistic career, they work as stage and costume designer in theatre.

Support by Hungarian Arts Academy.