Andrea Éva Győri (1985 – 2022) studied painting at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künst in Stuttgart, and HONGIK University in Seoul, and was the recipient of several international scholarships. Now, acb Attachment presents the artist’s pencil and watercolour painting series created in 2018 and 2019, and the thematically closely related ceramic sculptures.
Her oeuvre is characterised by an analytical, introverted attitude, articulating the bodily-spiritual processes associated with the experience of relaxation techniques applied during these years for the purpose of self-examination and self-healing. Győri attempted to explore in her work the interrelationship between emotional experience, the creative imagination of the mind and the physicality of the body.
During this period, Győri spent several hours a day using mind control, autogenic training and progressive muscle relaxation techniques, which seek to relieve anxiety through meditation or physical exercises that stimulate rhythmic muscle movement.
The title of the exhibition – and of several groups of works such as Deep Jaw Relaxation, Deep Muscle Relaxation – refers to the mechanism of these therapeutic tension release techniques: Squeeze and Release. These words refer to the interface between actively tensed muscles, the conscious layer of the psyche, and the passive, relaxed body and the unconscious.
In 2019, she organised events in her studio, during which she applied the above-mentioned relaxation practices in community settings. On long paper rolls, she captured the participants’ tense facial muscles, clenched teeth, and tensed limbs.
The series on display at acb Attachment are a synthesis of these observations and the artist’s own experiences.