Volná tvorba – Pavel Liška Art

CEREBRI TREE

Site-specific installation, light object, 2023

Design

Production

Light design

Projections

The site-specific light installation premiered at the light festival BLIK BLIK 2023 in Pilsen with an attendance of around 40,000 people. I chose a majestic plane tree where Pilseners meet and is in the centre of the events. I wrapped the tree in a fabric covered with 14,000 hand-cut mirrors made from waste material. The combination of projections and light design played a several minute loop with ambient music that covered the entire tree and its surroundings due to the reflections that the mirrors cast on the surrounding areas. The installation looks impressive at night and during the day, when it becomes an attractive selfie spot 🙂 Cerebri Tree can be in your city and light up any place. If you are intrigued, contact me and we'll work something out.

Artistic annotation: the Cerebri Tree, a tree as a symbol of communication, visualizes processes invisible to human eyes that take place "somewhere inside". The flow of life-giving sap, the conversion of oxygen into carbon dioxide, the communication between fauna and flora. Just like in the human brain, there is an ongoing sharing of information in the tree that we don't even know about, often don't even influenced by outter force, and yet it is happening.

blikblik

RULES OF FORGOTTEN WAR

Interactive environment and object, 2019

game design

Production

Animations

The topic of my thesis is difficult and unfortunately very common. War and its unfairness. In a pop-up room that can be built anywhere, you will find yourself in a game full of fights, victories and defeats that you can know from James Bond. The catch is that, unlike computer games where you get a point when you win, in my game your opponent can get it instead of you. Just like in real life. You can win the battle but lose the war. And unlike the game world, in the real world, you don't have infinite lives, you can't save your freedom with the save button, and cheats like "GOD mode" don't exist.

In this multimedia piece I have combined all the artistic and technical elements I have learned into one interactive object. The advantage is that you can not just touch and play the piece, but you can also take it apart and transport it in a van to wherever you need to go.

All Soul's Day

Immersive exposition, 2023

The artistic residency at the Wassaic Project in New York presented a Halloween-themed exhibition to 1,300 visitors, introducing not only the traditions of the Czech holiday Dušičky but also the cultures that have influenced both Dušičky and Halloween in the Czech territory. The entire installation was structured into five distinct sections, combining kinetic objects, illustrations, projections, and interactive elements. Visitors were guided through the rooms with tasks, with each task directing them towards a deeper understanding of Czech holidays and traditions. This artistic residency, as part of the Wassaic Project, created an environment for cultural exchange and the interconnection of traditions between the Czech Republic and the American context within the framework of Halloween.

PASSION & SIN

environment, 2023

Scenography

Light design

design and production

At the CO.CON festival, we care about the environment that visitors come to. Shooting game Doom deserved its own temple. Besides being cool, the scene is full of symbolism. Like the paradox of treating eroticism as a sin, but shooting in computer games is sanctified. Killing enemies has been okay with us since childhood. Doesn't that skew our reality a bit?

co.con

Diwali

Kinetic object with videoprojection, 2023, New York

A 6-meter-tall kinetic object served as the main light installation for the celebrations of the most important Indian festival, Diwali. The Diya candle symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. The visual concept of the object was created in collaboration with two Czech artists. The fire is inspired by the patterns of Petra Gupta Valentová, while the candle bowl reflects the images of Filip Švehla. Their work was recorded on video and subsequently brought to life using Resolume during the festivities.

BACK TO THE MOON

environment, 2020

Environment design

Light design

As part of the BLIK BLIK Digital Playground summer exhibition, I created an object-environment inspired by space shuttles and spacecraft for the Back to the Moon game exposition.

DEPO2015

Mirka Novak's album launch

Visual show and stage design, 2022

Stage design

light design

Live projections

I did the stage design for Mirka Novak's first album launch in Pilsen at DEPO2015 and in Prague at Jazz Dock. Stage design consisted of light objects, projection screens and costumes. The playlist of songs was complemented by custom-made abstract projections, which I mixed based on how the performer led the improvisational parts of the songs. All of this was complemented by close collaboration with the lighting designer. The whole show was one compact and dramaturgically well thought out piece.

ILLUSION BAROQUE

Audiovisual performance, 2020

Dramaturgy

Projections

The audio-visual performance Illusion Baroque was the highlight of the programme Baroque Region Bohemia and Bavaria on the square in Manětín. I took inspiration for the dramaturgy and the story from the square itself, which has dozens of Baroque statues. Several artists, a painter, a musical performer and two dancers collaborated with me on the project. Together we created a music/dance performance accompanied by a light and projection show.

baroko v čechách

BARRACUDA

Bar remodeling, 2022

Manětín swimming pool is one of my favourite places. And whenever I have the opportunity to help the pool team, I go for it. One of the bigger projects was the conversion of the bar into a ship that welcomes visitors together with a mermaid on the bow.

baroko v čechách

REGENSBURG, GERMANY

Artistic residence, 2021

I thought of the artist residency in Regensburg as a direct response to what I would see and experience in the city and how it would affect me. I created several objects in one vernissage and exhibition. The kinetic object captures the moment when local villagers in traditional costumes go out to have fun, get drunk and make a commotion in the city despite the covid measures. The projections onto paper-made Regensburg highlight the ever-present inattention of tourists and natives to the beauty and treasures of the town, which they will probably never discover due to the busy-ness of the main avenues they get swept up in. The Holy Kitch collage painting reflects on the kitschy art galleries that are warmly supported by the conservative and Catholic city at the expense of other art. The final object is an illustrated travel journal (see below).

REQUIEM 8" MOLL, DIRECTIONS

Film scenography, 2018, 2016

Scenography

I designed and created set designs for two student films made by my long-time friend Vojtěch Dvořák from the Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Both were shot with an analog camera under different conditions and each required an individual approach to lights and the set itself, props and costumes. The Movie Requiem 8" about a serial killer who is obsessed with spiders was shot in the now closed Barrandov studios, whereas the movie Directions was shot in daylight in the exteriors.

GAMER`S TALE

Mural with a game, 2023

Learning - world - language. The topics that were given to me to create a mural at the Department of English Language at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. The carrying story was the English Canterbury Tales from the 15th century, which were not finished. And so I took the liberty to finish the story in the communication game you will find on the walls. Just watch carefully and follow the clues that will lead you to the climax of the last "newly discovered" tale - The Gamer's Tale.

PEDAGOGY FACULTY, ZČU

PORT ARTHUR

Mural, 2022

The historic Port Arthur Villa in Manětín deserved an artistic input. I consulted with the owners on their idea of a colour palette and proposed a concept for a " guide on how to use the house". So in addition to the password to the wifi in Morse code, the entrance tells you how to open and close a window, how to use the water and how to turn on the lights. All thanks to simple iconography.

POP-UP, KINETIC OBJECTS

I've enjoyed making pop-up books, cards, jigsaw puzzles since I was a kid. Linking illustrations with mechanics is a genius concept for me. One of the books I created during my undergraduate degree, and I'm still proud of it today, is an adaptation of the Pilsen tales. But the unbeaten pop-up remains The Minute Tale, where you get to see one big three-dimensional work open up on a 100 x 70 cm page.

PC GAMES

GAME DESIGN

ILLUSTRATION, ANIMATION

During my studies I created a number of computer games in collaboration with programmers from the Department of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University. Two of them were the most important for my progress. BlackSun, in which I learned 3D modelling and the creation of virtual reality environments. And Timelapsus, an animated, artistically very nice game, which won the student game of the year award at Department of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University. In both games I made game design and all the visuals.

ANALOG GAMES

I enjoy games in many different shapes and forms. The biggest inspiration is life, which itself is a kind of game conditioned by chance. Like the number that rolls on the dice, you don't know what square life will take you to. I hide real-life stories and experiences in games and game boards for us to re-live and remember.

SÉRIe

Crossing Borders

A series of paintings loosely inspired by a seven-month journey through seven states in the USA, where the shapes of the paintings evoke the traveled states of New York, Massachusetts, Washington, California, Florida, Maryland, and Nevada. The series also reflects on the time when Native American tribes freely roamed the land, contrasting with the arrival of settlers who began to establish firm boundaries and divide the land, disrupting the natural harmonious relationship with the landscape. The uniqueness of this series lies not only in its visual expression but also in its execution. The frames of the paintings are roughly crafted from construction material, lending authenticity and rawness to the pieces. The canvases are stretched onto these frames loosely, akin to the skin pulled from an animal, intensifying the impression of wild and untamed nature. Now as part of a landscape art in Hangar Space in New York State.

THE TALE OF THE MASON'S SPOON

Illustrated Legend of the Mason's Trowel, narrating the story of the architect Jan Blažej Santini and the construction of the monastery in Plasy. Created for the National Technical Museum series.

FOXCARDS

German type cards with illustrations on human Needs, Pleasures, Work and Sins.

Comics

TRAVEL JOURNALS

My great hobby is making travel journals. Instead of a photo album, I capture travel experiences using illustrations and pop-ups. And instead of beautiful views with castles and chateaus and smiling friends laughing into the camera, I capture rather bizarre and funny situations that happen to me on the road. In the words of Saturnin: "Believable stories can be made up, the unbelievable must happen."

REGENSBURG, GERMANY

ISRAEL

ROME, ITALY

HOLIDAYS, COTTAGE HOUSE AND OTHER PLEASURES

ART PIECES

Insert home

Painting created for a benefit auction live during the TEDxPlzeň conference. However, the large painting is too big to hang in a regular interior. It becomes an interactive painting in front of which we have to put furniture. The painting abstractly depicts a family with a baby in a cradle, a caring mother bending down and a father guarding the family.