The growing popularity of digital technologies, such as 3D animation, virtual reality, or artificial intelligence, has recently reignited the discussion about the Uncanny Valley phenomenon. This concept was first introduced by robotics professor Masahiro Mori in his 1970 essay "Bukimi No Tani," where he explored how the similarity between machines and humans affects our perception. However, the roots of this phenomenon go even deeper. Before this topic began addressing the analogy between machines and humans, Sigmund Freud explored the concept of the Uncanny in his 1919 essay "Das Unheimliche." Here, Freud's crucial assertion is that the uncanny is a type of frightening element that leads back to something not only familiar but once intimately known. The Uncanny evokes a feeling of distress precisely because something intimately familiar appears strange and unusual. In the context of corporeality, this phenomenon becomes a means of metamorphosis, fragmentation, illusion, and deformation. This concept therefore raises several questions: Is bodily deformation the main source of the feeling of distress, or is it just one of its triggers? In what context must bodily disfiguration be presented to trigger the uncanny effect? How do we even define bodily disfiguration, and in which medium is this effect most impactful?
The exhibition Patterns of Carnality explores the Uncanny Valley phenomenon and its representation in contemporary art. Elena Steiner's work presents a disturbing view of a human being that appears to be enclosed in a deformed ceramic shell that was once their body. Ema Bartošová's installation raises existential questions intertwined with the horror of empty human skins, making us wonder where their owners have gone. Jakub Daněk's animation evokes a sense of discomfort within the digital environment and uncertainty about whether what we see is still reality or mere simulation. Lucie Hošková's paintings work with a decomposed canvas containing pieces of soil, referencing our own mortality, the fragility of our bodies, and their insignificance in this vast, bleeding machinery. Tereza Jobová's photographs examine relationships between various everyday objects placed in disturbing situations and unusual angles that raise questions challenging reality. Within the exhibition, the artists explore the boundaries between human and non-human, reality and simulation, naturalness and deformation, thus blurring the lines of identity and perception of corporeality.
Exhibitors: Bartošová Ema, Daněk Jakub, Hošková Lucie, Jobová Tereza, Steiner Elena.
Curator Team
Kateřina Benešová
Nikol Hašková
Olga Hochmanová
Tereza Kopalová
Filip Míchal
Production
Zuzana Doleželová
Dominik Kobeda
Graphic design
Jakub Klimeš