The invitation by the Dutch Embassy in Bratislava to show our work in the framework of re:Made in Holland was truly exciting. Through websites like www.eastmodern.com and the photographs of Hertha Hurnaus we were aware of the sensational Modern Architecture in this region.

The idea to exhibit at the Slovak National Gallery sounded like a real opportunity. Vladimír Dedeček’s stunning ‘bridge’ section of the museum is waiting for renovation and was closed for many years. To open it especially for this occasion made us feel welcome. In a strange way it even felt like coming home… The light in this wing of the building is astounding, the brutal sculptural quality of the facade frightening.

We fell in love with the building although we were not able to actually experience it in real life until the opening. But like with an Internet love affair… What would happen once we would finally meet in reality?

We discovered a deeply frustration mutation of the facade of the building: the National Gallery nowadays is covered in a supersized advertisement for Ford. The XXXL poster neutralizes the intense horizontality of the facade; it destroys its depth.

After informing about possibilities to remove the poster for the duration of our show – to expose once more the museums unique monumental face- it became clear that that would be a costly operation; taking it down for one day only and reinstalling it would already amount up to 3.600 euro.

So if we can’t ‘Beat the Billboard’, can we find a more specific way to use the building as advertisement?

FEEL THE DIFFERENCE!