Filip Sabol & Matúš Maťátko

BREAK THE WALL
Filip Sabol & Matúš Matátko
Exhibition: 21 October 2021 – 7 November 2021
The project “Break the wall” explores the social dimension of the post-socialist housing estate of the 90s and 00s, through the jointly created works by the pair of artists Matúš Matátko (1984) and Filip Sabol (1989).
“Break the wall” is an analysis of the phenomenon of housing estates that were created in the previous regime with a touch of utopia, a vision of eternal peace and prosperity. Mátko and Sabol belong to the generation that grew up fresh after the fall of the socialist regime. This generation was born into a “new world”, into new conditions in society. The utopian plans of living on housing estates were shipwrecked in the 1990s, when, thanks to the opening of borders, the fall of totalitarianism and the advent of the free market, they became centres of increasing crime and drug trafficking. Blocks of prefabricated houses, which were created as a mass housing solution, later turned into a haven for dealers, street dealers and their customers. The once clean blocks of flats have gradually turned grey, they have been described by young people out of their zone, and graffiti has been born.
This post-socialist housing estate is seen as a branching residential geometric structure, as part of the landscape of civilisation. It is an urban habitat, an environment that is inhabited by man. Man as a social creature becomes part of communities, ‘urban tribes’. In this environment there are several subcultures, groups of people who share similar views and practice similar rituals. Everyone is trying to make money in the way that works best for them and to survive, whether legally or illegally.
Both artists come from similar urban backgrounds that have shaped them, and in their work they often return to their personal experiences, which are key to the authenticity of the project. Both grew up in the graffiti and rap community of the noughties, but they have left the housing estate they grew up in, “THE WALL BREAKING”, which provides them with a distance from which they can better relate to the subject matter.

The exhibition was supported from public sources by the Slovak Arts Council.

Artworks available

Exhibition

Curriculum vitae

BREAK THE WALL
Filip Sabol & Matúš Matátko
Exhibition: 21 October 2021 – 7 November 2021
The project “Break the wall” explores the social dimension of the post-socialist housing estate of the 90s and 00s, through the jointly created works by the pair of artists Matúš Matátko (1984) and Filip Sabol (1989).