Designblok Prague 2024 Compact: Linda Procházka and Jive Lau – Dreamer’s Garden

For all that gardens, be they small private gardens or expansive public gardens are often considered as refuges of nature, as small islands of nature amid the brutality of modern society, all gardens are artificial constructions. Even the Garden of Eden was, if one so will, an artificial construction. Gardens exist as extensions of the human imagination, creativity, desires, ideals. They aren’t natural.

Similarly, and as discussed from Plant Fever. Towards a Phyto-centred design at Schloss Pillnitz, Dresden, many of the flowering plants we have in our gardens, certainly our European gardens, are either victims of colonialism, brought against their will to Europe where they were renamed and denied their biographies by their new masters, or are the results of breeding programmes, crossings and selections, are beings that don’t, can’t, exist in nature. Flowering plants are human-made, invariably man-made, constructions in the human construction of the garden, are human-made constructions in the artificial constructions of human imagination, creativity, desires, ideals.

Which also means it is possible to create new forms gardens, to form gardens anew.

Physically and conceptually.

Arising from a cooperation between Czech artist and designer Linda Procházka and Hong Kongese artist Jive Lau, Dreamer’s Garden provides a theoretical basis for that reconstruction, a theoretical building block for that reconstruction; namely the flowering plants our reconstructed gardens will require.

Flowering plants for our reconstructed gardens formed from the neon tubing that is at the core of Jive Lau’s artistic practice set in pots formed from the glass that is at the core of Linda Procházka’s artistic practice. Flowering plants in pots, not vases, because, lest we forget in our collective joy of Dreamer’s Garden, they are still being nurtured in preparation for our reconstruction of our gardens, they aren’t yet ready to be picked and displayed.

Flowering plants in pots that are thus also absolutely delightful light sculptures; rough sketches of plants in space whose energy and vitality continues to their roots, meaning the pots shine with an abstracted version of the flowers natural radiance. Just one of the many delights of the light sculptures.

Light sculptures that combine and unite not just flowering plants and light, but unite Art Nouveau and Pop Art, organic and inorganic, function and decoration, permanency and transiency, the streets of downtown Kowloon and the sklárna, glass foundries, of the Czech Republic, tradition and transformation.

And do so with an awful lot of fun, without taking themselves all too seriously.

But is it art, design, craft? ¿Does it matter? Not really, but is a very nice framework, a very nice location, for approaching such borders, for questioning the importance, the relevance, of such borders. And also for approaching the borders of kitsch. Whereby we do appreciate that for some of you it has long since crossed that border. For us however it has pulled up short, thought about it, and decided to remain in the dominion of good taste.

Something tending to be underscored by the fact that when viewed from a great many perspectives it is very clear that the flowering plants are actually bent neon tubing, there is no attempt to deny what is being done, no attempt to recreate flowering plants in pots, simply a desire to imply flowering plants in pots. And thus perspectives that remind that, as with the flowering plants of our gardens, the Dreamer’s Garden isn’t natural, is a human-made construction, but a very different conceptual and physical approach to such a construction. Which in turn allows you access to the possibility to reconstruct our gardens, allows an alternative perspective on our gardens. Which is very satisfying. And, for us, keeps them firmly on the healthy side of kitsch.

If bent neon tubing that means that, and contrary to the position we normally take on lights, we’d like to see them turned off. For while we don’t doubt that the pots will continue to be valuable additions to the space as formal entities, one of the weaknesses of neon tubing is that in the off state it can be a little too clinical, can suck the warmth from a space. Downtown Kowloon has more agency at midnight than midday. As a general rule neon tubes need to be on. But maybe life in the Dreamer’s Garden is different. Why shouldn’t it be?

And if it isn’t that doesn’t negate Linda Procházka and Jive Lau’s project, far from it, as a project Dreamer’s Garden is and remains a genuine joy, a delight for body and soul; but would tend to underscore that the flowering plants of Dreamer’s Garden are not intended for a mass market, aren’t yet ready to be picked and displayed on a mass market scale.

Or, rather, the physical expressions of the flowering plants of Dreamer’s Garden aren’t; the physical expressions, as one-offs, are very much objects intended for particular sub-groups of that market.

But as stimuli for considerations on the human-made constructions we are all surrounded by and move amongst, and as reminders of the very real possibilities we all possess to reconstruct those spaces, physically and conceptually, that all it takes is a change of perspective and a little bit of dreaming, a little belief in a dream of how things could be, they are very much flowering plants in pots for us all.

Dreamer’s Garden is distributed by KiloMustard who don’t appear to have an internet presence. Which is odd. Should we find something we’ll update.

More information on Linda Procházka can be found at @linda_pro_design

More information on Jive Lau can be found at @jivelau

And for all in or near Prague the Dreamer’s Garden can be visited and enjoyed until 7pm on Sunday September 6th at the Museum of Prague, Na Poříčí 52, Prague 8 as part of Designblok 2024. Full details can be found at www.designblok.cz