In her project called Engaged Wardrobe Slovak artist Eva Filová addresses issues related to registered partnership, reproductive rights, and the right to euthanasia among others. The artist has created a series of clothing and underwear with signs like "Homophobia", "Registered Partnership", "Intolerance", "Sterilisation" or "Celibacy". Clothes (like a second skin) represent personal beliefs or refer to political views and concepts that we can put on or take off, appropriate or renounce. 

On the one hand, Eva Filová's work is related to the demands of human rights movements, on the other hand, it criticizes hateful tendencies in society and especially conservative attitudes of the Catholic Church. In addition to feminist and queer slogans ("Pro Choice", "We will not be silent"), the Engaged Wardrobe also includes "Catechism" or "Conscientious Objection", which some Christian doctors use to justify their refusal of abortion, or, on the contrary, the demand for "Separation of Church" referring to the idea of a secular state. The polarity of white and black represents the escalation of social debate. At the same time, however, it suggests the possibility of transformation: linen loses its colour through frequent use and washing, anticipating the possibility of a whole range of attitudes between the two poles.

The series of works was created between 2006-14 as a reaction to the situation in Slovakia at that time. Even after all these years, it has lost none of its urgency. In the current times, marked by the deterioration of minority rights, attacks on free culture and threats to democracy in Slovakia and other countries, Eva Filová's work is a reminder that the struggle for equality and justice is not over. In the exhibition at Artwall Gallery, the artist confronts the public with these issues and asks not only what attitudes we hold as individuals, but above all what attitudes should be given space within our society.

The opening will feature the presentation of a monograph by Slovak art historian Jana Geržová on the work of Eva Filová (Jana Geržová: Eva Filová, Circle of Contemporary Art Profile 2024). The book is not only a monograph of the artist relevant to contemporary Slovak art, but also discusses art as a form of protest. Eva Filová was one of the first Slovak artists (together with Anna Daučíková) to proudly declare her commitment to feminism in the mid-1990s, when it was far from popular. Current development show that feminist activism is still as relevant as ever. 

About the artist: Eva Filová (1968) is an artist, film theorist and pedagogue. She deals with gender issues. Currently she is involved in scientific and pedagogical work. She teaches at the Department of Film Studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. She has published the books "Eros, Sexus, Gender in Slovak Film" (2013) and "The Slovak State in Film. Documentary and fiction after 1945" (2020; with Eva Vženteková). https://secondaryarchive.org/artists/eva-filova

Curators: Lenka Kukurová, Zuzana Štefková

The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the City of Prague and the Municipal District of Prague 7. Media partners of the project are Artmap, Radio 1, GoOut. The co-organiser of the opening is the Foundation and Centre for Contemporary Art.

Photo of the exhibition at Artwall: Martin Micka, photo of the opening: Lenka Dvořáková