Cover

Ferdinand Baumann Gallery
May–June 2022
cement plaster on glass, fluorescent tubes

Štěpánská Passage is both a public walkway and a commercial zone. The gallery, set in glass display windows, competes for attention with the neighbouring shops, which can easily lead to a clash of interests. One tactic for resolving such conflict is passive defense: you can just dig yourself in or board yourself up. This preserves your autonomy, but also creates a risk of indifference—an armoured position is easy to ignore and thus easy to avoid. The strips of cement plaster covering the illuminated, empty display window from the outside were designed with this lack of interest in mind. The numerous cracks that allowed light to seep through highlighted the gallery’s autonomy and offered a glimpse inside. It was, however, a thankless glimpse, as the cement plaster coating made the fluorescent lighting seem rather harsh.