‘Bones and Neighbors’ by Miroslava Večeřová at Plusmínusnula Gallery

“White chalk hills are all I’ve known
White chalk hills will rot my bones
White chalk sticking to my shoes
White chalk playing as a child with you”

PJ Harvey

The narrowest part of the English Channel, a mere 35 kilometers from the French port of Calais, is where you find one of the United Kingdom’s most prominent symbols – the White Cliffs of Dover. The pale bright rocks are the first and the last thing one sees when entering or leaving the island. They form an inseparable part of British history and identity, a protective barrier from the outside world as well as a connection to it.

The chalk cliffs are the topic of the “BONES AND NEIGHBORS” exhibition by Czech artist Miroslava Večeřová. She chose them not only based on personal experience of having permanently moved to London, but also as a continuation of her long-term interest in investigating the relations between countryside, human body and material.

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Večeřová is a stranger in the UK and the cliffs carry no connotations of sentiment or patriotism to her. She does not focus on their representative value but rather takes interest in their very essence, the material. It is chalk – a soft, porous rock that originated some 70 million years ago from calcite shells of Mesozoic marine micro-organisms.

Večeřová perceives chalk through her whole body and uses this sensory perception to develop a chain of imaginative processes and associations which provide space for new situations and relationships. Chalk is a tool of intercommunication, a map of an internal landscape composed of rhythmic edits made by one’s own imagination. This is further encouraged by the author’s playful interventions and manipulations which accentuate the rock’s dynamic character.

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová, Bones and Neighbors, Plusmínusnula Gallery, exhibition view. Photo: Peter Snadík

Miroslava Večeřová (*1985) lives and works alternating between London and Prague. She studied photography at the Camberwell College of Arts in London and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. She has regular solo and group exhibitions in Czechia and abroad (the National Gallery in Prague, Auto Italia South East in London, the Czech Center in Berlin, Büro für kulturelle Übersetzungen in Leipzig, the AMU Gallery, etc.). In 2014, the jury of the PAF Festival of Film Animation and Contemporary Art in Olomouc recognized her work in the Other Visions competition, while she also won a residence at ESAC in Český Krumlov. In 2015, she held an exhibition at the Poppositions Off-Fair in Brussels. She is one of the founders of the Baba Toure Collective.