Echoes of the Venice Biennale: Eva Koťátková

The Prague reshowing of Eva Koťátková’s collaborative project The Heart of a Giraffe in Captivity Is Twelve Kilos Lighter brings to the NGP the installation representing the Czech Republic at the 60th Venice Biennale (2024), the world’s most prestigious art show. Alongside Koťátková, curator Hana Janečková, artists and composers Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser, as well as children’s and seniors’ collectives contributed to the project. 

Lenka the giraffe was captured in Kenya in 1954 and transported to the Prague Zoo to become the very first Czechoslovak giraffe. She survived only two years in captivity, after which her body was donated to the National Museum in Prague, where it was exhibited as a museum artefact until 2000. Koťátková’s collaborative project aims to question the hierarchies, violence and extractive practices embedded in the way we encounter, view and learn about animals. 

The Prague reshowing of The Heart of a Giraffe in Captivity Is Twelve Kilos Lighter further develops the original exhibition project and, through a transformative educational art installation and an accompanying programme, reimagines Lenka’s story and rethinks the relationship between human institutions and the natural world. Lenka’s story is also interpreted by children and seniors from the Czech Republic and abroad, as well as by the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures collective, which brings a decolonial perspective to the project. Together, their voices and the installation merge in a collective body – a place of collaboration and sharing based on emotions, experiences and relationships. 

Venue: Small Hall of the Trade Fair Palace