Eva Koťátková creates work that exists and acts at the intersection of fantasy and reality. Koťátková’s most recognised work are her large-scale installations that use sculpture, collage, drawings, text, sound and scenography. She hopes to provoke emotion, and that this emotion connects us with others beyond categorical subdivisions and hierarchies. Her practice often refers to surrealist and psychoanalytic theory.
Blankets, Monsters, Anna and the World (2022) explores how we can communicate the realities of the world to a child, and in turn what we can learn from their viewpoint. The ‘Anna’ from the title refers to Koťátková’s eldest daughter, who inspired and helped develop the series. Each element of the title has a story behind it. Blankets have many uses for Anna; curtains, partitions, as refuge from danger or objects of comfort. Monsters feature in Anna’s everyday life, which means they must be addressed. Learning to understand the World is difficult. Like most children, Anna is full of ‘what-if’ questions and like most parents, Koťátková is faced with the difficult task of being unable to explain the injustices of the world to their child. She asks the viewer “How can we – from under the table – effectively prepare for the world outside, without losing our hiding and dreaming places in the future?”
This acquisition will complement the legacy of collage and paper that is already present in the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University, which features works by Kurt Schwitter, Linder, Thomas Bewick, Thomas Hair and William Henry Charlton. Blankets, Monsters, Anna and the World is created by a contemporary woman artist and adds diversity to the collection through addressing the gender balance for future exhibitions.
