Released thoughts, 2001, computer prints,
rastered films from an exposure unit, glass,
optical fibres, light source, steel frame, parts

RELEASED THOUGHTS
The title has been used previously by Josef Váchal to label one of his prints. The present installation is, in a way, a re-opening of the topic.

Over the past few years, the constituent elements of Jan Měřička’s work have become increasingly complex. Until now, the materiality of his expression has played a significant role: the thick rough paper he makes himself, or some other substance of similar distinctiveness (glass in the case of this installation).

In his project Released thoughts, Měřička makes use of modern technology in the form of tomograph imaging, revealing the hidden structure of the brain as it is divided into individual segments. What emerges is not so much an identifiable biological map as an environment of disengaged forms that suggest both the “micro” of cellular life and the “macro” of the cosmos with its fluid energies. This disorientation of perception, enhanced by artificial luminosity and the play of various colours, presents a pre-iconographic account of how, even in an age of genetic unravelling, the inner workings of the human mind (“spirit”, “soul”) with its inner gravitation remain a largely unfathomable mystery. Each layer of tomograph image represents one moment in time that is then obscured (or half-obscured) by the next one. Each layer is distinctly separate, but at the same time organically linked with what lies beneath it and above it, just as man’s temporal awareness is based on an indivisible stream of individual moments. It is no coincidence; therefore, that Měřička uses intellect and intuition in equal measure to formulate his conception. While seemingly departing from the material artefact to the dematerialised image, he is, in fact, continuing the same journey of exploration.

– Richard Drury