Exhibition project examining the phenomenon of urban wildlife – Art Korner of Kastner Kommunity, Budapest, 9th November - 5th December 2023.
"During November you can meet fluffy wild animals in the exhibition hall of Kastner Kommunity. Thanks to Réka Vidra, the winner of this year's Art Open (the first contemporary art competition organized by Kastner Kommunity), urban wildlife will temporarily move into the hybrid community and art space. Deer, wild boar, martens, foxes, hedgehogs... nowadays you can regularly see them on the street, in your garden or even in your yard. Due to urbanization, in recent decades, we have practically become urban roommates with wildlife that is increasingly being pushed out of their natural habitats and searching for food.
The exhibition critically examines the phenomenon of urban wildlife with a sensitizing purpose. Réka Vidra brings the topic closer to us, city dwellers, with an unusual and very smart choice of materials and techniques. The animals depicted by the artist surround the visitor in the form of soft, hand-tufted rugs that are familiar from interiors and give warmth. Thanks to this, the exhibition presents the overwhelming and multifaceted problem of the urbanization of wildlife in an inclusive and soothing environment that enables genuine understanding, reflection and the opportunity to search for possible solutions."
Curator: Korinna Tánczos
Art Management Intern: Klára Edöcsény
Opening speech and finissage: Mária Tóth Ronkayné, PhD
Roe deer fawn in the Fiumei Road Graveyard, waiting for its mother hit by a car at Kálvária square (hand tufting, punching, mixed wool and acrylic secondhand yarns,120 ×80cm, 2023.)
As good as a cardio workout
(hand tufting, punching, mixed wool and acrylic secondhand yarns, 220×240 cm, 2023.)
Wild boar with piglets shot around St John’s Hospital
hand tufting, punching, mixed wool and acrylic secondhand yarns, 160×90cm, 2023.
Beech marten family in a leaky pot in the attic, which was placed there to avoid water damage from a roof leak
(hand tufting, punching, mixed wool and acrylic secondhand yarns 40×40cm, 2023.)
Hedgehogs on the Island of Rabbits (now known as Margaret Island)
(hand tufting, punching, mixed wool and acrylic secondhand yarns 30×30cms each, 2023.)
Artiodactyl buddies
(installation – paper, pencil, mudbricks, 2023.)
