Jarroko

Jarroko is the story collector. They tell these stories through drawing, collage, author's book, video, poetry, text, scenographic installation and drag perfomances. As the queer person with mixed culture background (Czech - Ukrainian) with chronic illness, they naturally explore the themes of identity, intimacy, emotionality and biopolotics.  Can be gay erotica radical form of political activism? Can be love poem a way how to critisize mysogyny? Can be embroidery form of fight against r*ssian colonialism? And could any kind of cultural work helps the bodies unwanted by patriarchal system? Jarroko asks these question and try to find answers through his work.

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Portraits of Jackie Bilot and Jacklyn the Guide for upcoming author's book Their Dreams of Big City

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Jacklyn the Guide performance, text 2022

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Stepping on Rusty Nail Time and Time Again textile, loincloth, embroidery, rusty tin, war illustrations, rusty nails 2021

Presented at Galleria A1, Mölne, Sweden in 2022

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Loveletter.gif gif 2022

This is that place Here we sleep, eat ... and doing other stuff It's the only universe I want to be in Just a coffee, movie and two of us I'm glad that I met you, I'm feeling alive You're the most important person

I photographed a fragment of the bed of me and my boyfriend. In post production I put the text, a loveletter dedicated to my boyfriend. Even though the text is about queer love, it could be relatable to any kind of romantic relationship. So I decided created a gif out of it, as the form of easily shareable public message which can be used by everyone who feel the same.

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When You're Listening Cher I Can See a Happiness in Your Eyes author's book (liner, marker, sticker, wallpaper, filtz), armchair, self adhesive wallpaper 2022

photo by: Polina Davydenko

When you're listening Cher I can see a happiness in your eyes When you sing her song on stage, stars are in your eyes When you're singing to me, you whisper "Do you believe in the life after love?"

In this project I asked myself a simple question: “What can happen in our homes?” So I started collecting answers - moments from everyday life, my own personal experiences, experiences of my friends, stories I found on social networks and online forums, news articles etc.- and I depicted them into the book by drawing and collage. By this process some sort of slide show was created including contradicting emotions. On the one side, joy, love, pleasure, feeling of safety; on the other, melancholy, tiredness, fear of war, pain and suffering. I wanted to deconstruct the myth of “sweet home” viewed as the safest place. I personally believe the place we could call our home is much more fluid and ambiguous and it’s shaped by our emotions, gender, sexual identity, cultural identity, health condition or social status.

The title of the installation When You’re Listening Songs by Cher, I Can See a Happiness in Your Eyes comes from the final poem of the book. 

[jarroko]

Out of the Closet liner, graphite pencil, acrylic, self adhesive wallpaper, gouache, coat rack, holy images on wood; hinges, sheep wool, text 2022

photo by: Tereza Sachrová

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Family collage on postcard 2022

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Winter Games liner, stickers, latexpaint on wood 2022

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My Homeland

collaboration with Jiří Charvát

embroidery, wood, self adhesive wallpaper, paper

2022

photos by: Eva Bystrianská

In our installation for Art Stop, 8smička in Humpolec we express our concern for the future of unwanted bodies living in the Czech republic. The whole installation was created shortly after the parliament election when the oligarchic party was replaced by conservative coalition which is against any form of feminism or queer rights. This result was bittersweet to me and Jirka such as we are queer couple and we started worried about what gonna happened next. So we created fragments of the room including framed embroidery depicting Hradčany including two art references - Purple Middle Finger by David Černý and Red Shorts by group Rafani. Both of the mentioned works criticize Czech political representation. We appropriate them, put them in the new context, showing our pessimistic view of the political future of our homeland.

I depicting political future, presented by collage which put Jirka's embroidery into space resembling interior. In this interior, piece of clock could be found. The installation was created soon after election when the populistic oligarchic party was dethroned which seems to be like victory for a democracy. During show opening, some people ask me why I don't put "five minutes to twelve" on the clock reffering to a Czech idiom which means something was stopped just in time before was too late. Yes, one nightmare ends, on the other hand winner of election become coalition of three conservative parties including christian-oriented one which say really unpleasant things about feminism, queer activism or same-sex marriages. For us, me and Jirka, as the gay couple and for many others, it's late and we really don't know what to expect from party who want to rule this country in a patriarchal way.

Installation was presented in Art Stop in Humpolec, exhibit place created by artist Richard Loskot, curated by Art Zone 8smička.

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Leatherguy latexpaint and tempera on canvas 2021

Andrew is really nice guy. He likes taste of licorise and wearing leather jackets while Sebastian is hugging him.

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... And That Boy Where He Sleeps? self adhesive wallpaper, latexpaint, pea, opener on fake wood 2021

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Rusty War

rusty metal plates, collage

2021

Tale of His Shirts

t shirt, tink top, shirt, embroidery, loincloth, wooden boxes, rusty nails, clothes peg

2021

photo by: Jana Talířová

Stepping on a rusty nail time and time again.

“If we want to know our future, we must first know our past.”

My history teacher uttered this sentence and it still resonates. It is true that history repeats itself constantly and humankind keeps on repeating the same mistakes. History is a warning.

The diptych Rusty War serves as a warning; two rusty metal plates with two war illustrations from WWII rusted into them. Although memories of war fade with each passing generation, the warning is still very much alive. War is just a piece of rusty metal that can cut you, hurt you.

I wanted to confront the objects with the current ongoing war in Ukraine. As a half-Ukrainian, I am personally affected by it. That is why I created the installation The Tale of his Shirts, which tells the story of a unspecified Ukrainian soldier through three pieces of clothing. It starts with a regular white T-shirt, continues with a shot-through white vest and ends with a white funeral shirt with the Ukrainian anthem embroidered on the back.

If we want to know our future, we must first know our past. And if we do not want the past to repeat itself, we must stop stepping on the rusty nail.

author's statement translated by Dominika Lewis

Presented during the show Still Stepping On Rusty Nail Time And Time Again at Ukradená galerie in Český Krumlov

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Tom latexpaint, rubber on rustic metal 2021

Draw me like Tom of Finland would ...

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Summer Camp liner, ink, paper, sticker, dried flowers on chipboard 2021

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Big Pink Triangle lipstick, graphite pencil on textile; performance 2021