Tereza Zelenkova : The Absence of Myth

"Tereza Zelenkova makes photographs that engage with a number of things, as formed and descriptive as they are oblique. The Absence of Myth is the manifestation of a practice that takes influence from a range of sources, including the French writer Georges Bataille, the much-lauded expounder of gloomy thought; the museum as a space for the documentation of objects out of context; and the artistic and literary traditions of surrealism - that pursuit that puts what is unconscious out in the open in all its strange, knotty ambiguity."

“’Night is also a sun’, and the absence of myth is also a myth: the coldest, the purest, the only true myth.”

– Georges Bataille

Legion TV are pleased to present Tereza Zelenkova’s first solo show in London. The exhibition will include Zelenkova’s latest photographic works, which are presented as excerpts from a critical dictionary created by the artist. Drawing on the traditions of Surrealism, Zelenkova’s darkly romantic work frequently references Georges Bataille, whose writings also partially inspired this project.

Working in black and white, Zelenkova’s photographs are often a nostalgic and melancholic representation of the present, that for her perpetually blends with the past, and vice versa. The images are mostly uninhabited and still; time here is frozen, not only through the alchemic process of photography, but also through the subject matter itself: old museum exhibits, preserved period interiors, or historic paintings, among others. It is as if the work resists the passage of time, the only dynamic feature being the water that occasionally runs through the otherwise timeless and unchanging environments.

The installation itself takes on the aesthetics of a museum exposition, creating a certain tension between the lyrical nature of the photographs and a detached, institutional-like presentation. The individual photographs are of intimate sizes that oscillate between public display and private album. For Zelenkova, each of her works is a result of subconscious choices, a mixture of chance and intentions, which under closer inspection reveal a web of associations, weaving together a narrative of a personal biography and artist’s cultural heritage. This is also the first time that Zelenkova presents her photographs together with text, revealing some of the inner concerns behind the work.

The exhibition is accompanied by a limited edition artist publication, which also serves as an exhibition catalogue, bringing together foreword by Daniel C. Blight, Zelenkova’s photographs, texts, and also a poem written by French poet Ed Anon.

The Absence of Myth

19th October – 23rd November

Private View 18th October 6.30 – 10pm

Legion TV

4-17 Frederick Terrace London E8 4EW

Opening hours:
Thursday to Saturday 12.00 – 17.00 or by appointment