Kristóf Kelemen

NIKE, the Statue of Our Liberty - PREMIER

2400 HUF / student: 1900 HUF
Double Bill: 3400 HUF
Trafó passes are accepted

A headless goddess, a poet in front of a fast food restaurant, the obligatory Lenin. One taken away, one given a new name and identity, one that will not stand much longer. How did they get to be part of the cityscape and how is their fate intertwined with history and politics? Kristóf Kelemen takes us on a subjective guided tour in Pécs, his hometown, through stories layering world events, Hungarian history and episodes from his personal life. His investigation is centered around concepts of community, solidarity, power, freedom and memory and it approaches reality in a playful way, acknowledging its elusive nature.

Nike is an abstract representation of the goddess of victory by renowned sculptor Agamemnon (Memos) Makris, who came to Hungary as a refugee in 1950 and became an acknowledged Hungarian artist. It was erected in 1975 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the liberation of Hungary by Soviet troops, an event that also marked the beginning of the country’s colonisation for almost half a century. This statue of the workers' movement ﹣its pedestal financed by public donations and built by volunteers﹣ towered over an expanding city where coal and uranium ore mining created opportunities not only for economic but also for cultural development for a few decades. After the regime change, the spray painted “Russians out” inscription appeared and the numbers 1945-1975 disappeared from the statue’s pedestal. She was renamed, not a monument of liberation any more, but Winged Nike, a new, neutral identity.

To date, Nike remains a popular first date destination and preferred backdrop of wedding photos while the local Lenin disappeared, its former location marked by a dry patch in the grass and new statues have appeared and stirred controversy regarding aesthetics, art in public space and politics.

Nike and Singing Youth (Judit Böröcz-Bence György Pálinkás-Máté Szigeti) are presented as part of a joint evening. The Hungarian Acacia duo (Kelemen-Pálinkás), which has attracted international attention, presents two separate works that rhyme with each other in many ways.

Double Bill - 1 evening 2 performances: if you put tickets for both performances to your cart  you can buy them on a discounted price (2x1700 HUF instead of 2x2400 HUF). You can purchase tickets on the special price here.

Nike is Kristóf Kelemen's fourth production premiering at Trafó, in which he deals with his hometown and its disappearing stories. The 2018 Observers was awarded the Contemporary Hungarian Drama Prize and won the Theatre Critics' Award in two categories: best new Hungarian drama and best independent theatre production of 2018.

Concept and performance: Kristóf Kelemen
Director of photography: Alina Vincze
Music, sound: Péter Márton
Video: Balázs Virág
Production manager: Judit Böröcz
Special thanks: Anett Kovács, Ildikó Sterner, Dezső Kelemen

Production: Trafó House of Contemporary Arts
Supporters: FÜGE Produkció, Jurányi Produkciós Közösségi Inkubátorház

The performance is created in the framework of the Liberty international partnership with the support of the Creative Europe Program of the European Union.

"A köztéri szobrok történetének felfejtésén keresztül a produkció megmutatja , hogy milyen szelektív a társadalmi emlékezetünk, és milyen erősen befolyásolják az egyes hatalmi-politikai szólamok, mire emlékszünk és hogyan. Ám az egész csak érdekes történelemóra lenne, ha Kelemen Kristóf nem töltené meg mindezt személyességgel."

"Bár a szobortörténeti utalások és rögtönzött elemzések végig összefogják a Trafó Nagytermébe online közvetített-kivetített, szokatlan városi tárlatvezetést, a hangsúlyok és a mértékek teljesen szubjektíven alakulnak ki, ami igazából a produkció lényege."

"Fontos, hogy ezek vagy politikai üzenettel rendelkező vagy politikával átitatott köztéri alkotások. Már a Megfigyelőkben is az foglalkoztatott, hogy az én generációm milyen viszonyt tud kialakítani az államszocialista korszakkal; most ugyanez a kérdés a szobrokra vonatkozik. Mit kezdjünk velük? A Lenin-szobrot ledöntötték, a Niké áll, de a felállításakor érvényes politikai kontextusból kivették, és új narratívába helyezték. El lehet-e a múltat törölni? Van-e helyes út?"


TRAFÓ KORTÁRS MŰVÉSZETEK HÁZA
ticket office:
  • Main hall performance days: 5 pm - 10 pm
  • studio and club performance days: 5 pm - 8:30 pm
  • other days: 5pm - 8 pm
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  • Performance days: 4-10pm.
  • Opening hours: Tuesday - Sunday: 4pm-7pm.
  • Closed on Mondays.

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