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MUCHA Studio (CZ) → Residual Signal: homage to Woody Vasulka

19:00-24:00, The interactive installation runs continuously.
  • 6 Dejvice
  • Interactive installation

About project

As part of its ongoing Homage to Masters series, Signal Festival presents a large-scale audiovisual installation celebrating the legacy of video art and experimental computer art pioneers Woody and Steina Vasulka. Brno-based MUCHA Studio transforms the spaces of Masaryk Hall of Residence into a pulsating environment of light and projection experiments, combining contemporary lighting design with the technologies and creative processes of the 1970s.

The installation unfolds across two interconnected parts. In the main hall, fragments of Vasulka’s work are reconfigured into a new spatial composition – their analogue structures, electronic textures and rhythmic visual language are reimagined for the present. In the interactive section, visitors become part of the system themselves: a camera captures their image and breaks it down into a fragmented composition across a wall of vintage CRT monitors, where it continues to layer, transform and evolve.

The installation was created in collaboration with Vašulka Kitchen Brno.

MUCHA Studio: Jiří Mucha, Ondřej Matějka, Jaroslav Maléř

Artist

MUCHA Studio is a Czech visual studio specialising in commercials and visual content with a cinematic aesthetic. The studio was founded in 2018 by director and producer Jiří Mucha. He studied Interactive Media Theory at Masaryk University, where his Master's thesis, supervised by Jana Horáková, reconstructed the landmark 1968 exhibition Computer Graphic, curated in Brno by Jiří Valoch. The results of this archival research were presented later that year at the Brno House of Arts in the form of a virtual reality installation, and subsequently at the international Ars Electronica Festival in Austria in 2021.

Vašulka Kitchen Brno is a centre for new media art dedicated to the legacy of Woody and Steina Vasulka. Founded in 2016 by Tomáš Ruller, Jennifer Helia DeFelice and Viktor Pantůček, it takes inspiration from the original "Kitchen" – the legendary video art space established by Steina and Woody at New York's Mercer Arts Center in 1971. The centre maintains the Vasulkas' open digital archive, study collection and media library, and, in collaboration with the Vasulka Chamber at the National Gallery of Iceland, cares for their artistic estate. It is responsible for the preservation, research and cataloguing of their work, as well as that of other artists working with electronic media. It also provides facilities for researchers, students and curators, and organises lectures, conferences and exhibitions.

Location

The Masaryk Dormitory forms part of the university campus in Prague's Dejvice district. The idea for its construction emerged alongside plans for the Czech Technical University campus, with the support of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Opened in 1927, the residence quickly became a centre of student life, offering modern accommodation alongside lecture halls, a library, study rooms and other facilities. Following the closure of all Czech universities in 1939, the building underwent several changes of use and ownership. It returned to students at the end of 1989, although in a severely deteriorated condition. A major restoration began in October 1996, and the residence officially reopened three years later.

Since its opening in 1927, Masaryk Hall of Residence has been a place of encounter, intellectual exchange and experimentation. This enduring spirit resonates with the pioneering work of the Vasulkas, artists who dedicated their lives to expanding the possibilities of moving image and human perception.

  • Partner of the installation

    BERG Contemporary

  • Partner of the installation

    Vasulka Foundation

  • With support of

    Czech Technical University in Prague

  • Partner of the installation

    Vašulka Kitchen Brno

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