Jakub Nepraš

Jakub Nepraš (1981). Video installations by the multimedia artist Jakub Nepraš captivate audiences all over the world. He has participated in many international exhibitions, his works are part of important collections (Nanjing Biennale, Gwangju Biennale Korea, Expo 2010 Shanghai, Museum Colecção Berardo Lisbon, SIART Biennale Bolivia, Esslaward, etc.) and have been presented at a number of international festivals (ARS Electronica, SPARK Minneapolis, Transmediale Berlin, Videonale 12 Bonn). In 2021, he represented the Czech Republic at the Expo in Dubai with his spectacular sculpture Fenix Energy – a video object reminiscent of concentric urban planning as an energy exchanger covered with dozens of different videos that capture the city’s cultural bustle. It is the relationship between humanity, nature and new technologies that is a fundamental theme for Nepraš and he explores it with the help of knowledge of contemporary science and philosophy as a fragile superorganism predisposed to frequent deviations. In this way, he captures the adaptability of human society to exponential technological development. The artist began working with video collages and video installations during his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, when he moved from Aleš Veselý’s Studio of Monumental Art to the Studio of New Media II of Veronika Bromová and Michael Bielický. The artist himself recalls that he was drawn to the composed video by his Vj (virtual DJ) work: ‘It was a great school for me; the necessity to screen at events every weekend and produce something new all the time forced me to take full advantage of the existing possibilities of manipulating video and to constantly come up with new variations and combinations.’ His installation can currently be seen in public space. From January to December of this year, his video object Visibility, reminiscent of a street lamp, will illuminate the arcade of the Prague Municipal Library at the intersection of Mariánské Square and Valentinská Street and, depending on the intensity of the light, warn of the increased activity of Czech disinformation websites.