Gandy

Zbynek Baladran

images:

Theory of Practice, 2007
HDV film

Theory of Practice, 2007
HDV film, view of installation

Model of a Constructivist Tower 1:50, 2006, video, 4’17

For several years already, Zbynek Baladran’s videos have dealt mainly with the recording and reading of time with the aid of archaeological methods, according to which he demarcates certain archaeological fields within which he does his work. The starting point for his interpretations are found fragments of individual and collective memory within a particular field (photography, films, books...), which he then brings up to date in new configurations. In this video, he documents the creation of a model tower freely inspired by the Utopian vision of the Tatlin’s famous Constructivist tower. He used old books (on various themes) as building material, piling them up and noting the height of each book on its spine according to a 1:50 ratio. The original concept of the Constructivist tower as a Utopian model has been oriented towards the future. Baladrán’s tower puts together fragments of the past (books), producing a final form in which the past future meets the present past.

Model of a Constructivist Tower 1:50, 2006, video, 4'17
view of installation

5 Challenges to Describing the Truth, 2007
DVD loop

Sociofiction, 2006, DVD, 8 min (in English)

Baladran’s film is based on text and on mostly found footage. Rethinking today the Communist Manifesto, running on one side of the split screen, and the system built up in the name of it, the film reflects on revolution, utopia, construction and destruction.