Review | By textura
Kozmické louky | Magdaléna Manderlová
I’ve not been to Kozmické louky and, to be frank, needed a map to familiarize myself with its location. Situated north-west of Ostrava, this prime bird-watching site is described by the Oslo-based and Czech-born visual-and-sound artist Magdaléna Manderlová (b. 1991) as “a wetland in Silesia, on the very edge of the Czech Republic bordering Poland … and one of the last two remaining floodplain areas on the Opava River, locally known as the Opavice.” A quick online photo scan of the locale shows flat, far-reaching vistas filled with wildlife, water, trees, and walking trails. Despite the omnipresent threat of climate crises to this environment, the area offers a safe and comfortable home to a variety of animal species. Still, while I’ve not visited the site, Manderlová’s field recordings-based sound portraits make me feel like a guest welcomed into the setting and privileged to eavesdrop on the sounds of its places and people for forty-three immersive minutes. As I close my eyes, I imagine myself within the environment, breathing in its replenishing air and attending to the songs of its birds and the subtle vibrations of winds rustling through its grasses. As one finds in any physical place, the vast network of sound elements in play at any given moment is multitudinous. In Kozmické louky, a special universe opens up to those receptive enough to hear it and sensitive enough to appreciate it. […]