The exhibition by the artistic duo Bohuš and Monika Kubinský critically responds to the emptiness of political discourse slogans, which are particularly relevant in the context of the ongoing parliamentary elections. Photographs of old wooden latrines are accompanied by texts that at first glance resemble advertisements or election campaign slogans. 

Some slogans seem like ironic hyperbole of political slogans, revealing the emptiness of pre-election promises – "We are world-class," "Everything is bathed in sunshine" – and the self-centered motivations of the struggle for power – "Today is a celebration of the ego," "He who sits down rules." Although one of the slogans is "Don't panic," there is certainly cause for concern: in a situation where war is raging a few hundred kilometers east of our borders, the most powerful politician on the planet is a vengeful egomaniac, and parts of the planet are becoming uninhabitable due to climate change, this is definitely not the time to sit idly by in the shelter of an old latrine and wait to see how things turn out.

The Kubinskýs chose the motif of an old latrine as a place where, in principle, everyone is equal, even though some may think they are more equal than others. The latrine also symbolizes the flip side of perfumed illusions. The title of the exhibition, "Here sat confidence," is a warning against electing egotistical and narcissistic personalities to leadership positions in the state. Unfortunately, as can be seen from the political climate around the world, the current era is characterized by a preference for strong leaders. Monika and Bohuš Kubinští also offer a timely warning from Slovakia, which is grappling with the consequences of elections won by incompetent but all the more resentful politicians whose only strength is self-promotion. 

The opening panel of the exhibition depicts a cut-out latrine seat framed as a painting. The latrine lid as a "holy image" is a commentary on the state of a society that repeatedly elects idols from whom nothing positive can be expected. Bohuš and Monika Kubinští elaborate on this symbolism: "Self-confidence without humility is like an old latrine—it stinks, but still thinks it is indispensable. Every ego deflates eventually. Ambition, the will to power, populist slogans—they all go the same way."

Curators: Lenka Kukurová, Zuzana Štefková

About the artists: Bohuš Kubinský and Monika Kubinská are Slovak visual artists of the middle generation, actively working on the Slovak and international scene since the early nineties. Together they create large-scale spatial site-specific installations (e.g. "Story"- Synagogue, Trnava, 1997; "First Line"- Dox, Prague, 2014; "Movement of Memory"- New Synagogue, Žilina, 2019; "Meadow / Heavenly Stones"- At Home Gallery, Synagogue, Šamorín, 2024). They often respond to the context of the space into which they enter with their works and highlight its authentic poetics. In addition to their common creative line, they have been simultaneously engaged in the development of individual authorial programs since their student days. www.studiokubinsky.sk

Bohuš Kubinský (1966) as a sculptor often reaches not only for the archaic sculptural material - stone, but also brilliantly manages bronze, glass and stainless steel, using not only traditional methods, but also the latest technologies. He has participated in several international sculpture symposia (Italy, Germany, Slovakia, New Zealand) and international exhibitions (Australia, France, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic). Until 2023, he also worked as a teacher at the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. In 2023, he received the Mostyn Family Foundation Award at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondy, Sydney. His works are represented in Slovak and foreign collections of modern art.

Monika Kubinská (1966) is a painter whose recent work is characterized by expansion beyond the reduced surface of the painting. Her painting compositions are literally "built" on an architectural floor plan or sculpturally modeled in such a way that they deny two-dimensionality in heavy reliefs or interlaced assemblages. Another way of decomposing the painting surface is by composing monumental altar compositions - as contemporary variations of the traditional altarpiece with folding wings (Exhibition "Joy - Bloodline", Gallery Medium, Bratislava, 2017). In 2021, she created the monumental installation "Found in a Notebook", which she designed especially for the premises of the Synagogue - Center for Contemporary Art, Trnava. https://secondaryarchive.org/artists/monika-kubinska/

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: Maria Judina