MICHAELA KRÁLIKOVÁ

Eye'm

The invitation to slow down, to observe, and to discover new perspectives in places we think we already know.

Eye’m is a movement-based performative installation primarily designed for public space, with a strong capacity to adapt to gallery and cultural center environments. Its central element is a large eye - a headpiece worn by performers, that creates surreal, slightly absurd figures. These figures move through space, explore it, and gently redirect the audience’s attention toward details that usually go unnoticed.

The project was developed during the Reimagining Realities artistic residency, realized under the auspices of Tabačka Kulturfabrik in 2024. The outcome of the residency was a performative pop-up in the form of a work-in-progress, presented during the immersive Festival 66 hodín.

The initial impulse was the need to create a sense of trust and safety within a larger festival community. At that time, the eye was not meant to see - and it was precisely this “dysfunction,” which gradually transformed into fragility, that opened up a playful space for exploring shared responsibility, spatial perception, and interaction with the audience. Although the eye eventually “sees,” it does so only within a limited range, its vulnerability remains a key element of the overall experience.

Since then, the project has evolved across various contexts - as a performative intervention in public space, as an exhibition guide within the ACMC Conference Vienna, and as an experimental performance with hints of a narrative structure, presented at the XVI. Prague Microfestival. Each of these formats has brought new questions and further possibilities for development.

"Today, we understand the project as a long-term artistic research emerging from the need to transform everyday environments into spaces of encounter, playfulness, and shared attention. The audience is not merely observing but becomes part of the situation - their reactions, movement, and decisions actively shape the composition and flow of the performance."

In 2026, the project was selected by the European platform In Situ, which supports art in public space and the development of international collaboration. Within the immersive laboratories provided by the platform, performers aim to further develop the project’s movement language, work with objects and sound, and deepen the relationship between performer, audience, and space. At the same time, we see this collaboration as an opportunity for sharing, mentoring, and connecting with artists and organizations across Europe.