GROUNDS FOR SPECULATION
VIDEO ESSAYS SCREENING + TALK
Event: 06.06 | 7PM | CASA COMUM – UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO
Three performative video essays by Oskar Helcel focus on specific development projects in Prague, through which he examines the privatization of public space and the dynamics of late capitalism within the contemporary city – an environment where social inequalities are increasingly visible and processes of gentrification continue to accelerate. Adopting an engaged, activist stance, Helcel critically reflects on “developerism”: a system that prioritizes the interests of real estate developers, profit maximization, and private capital over the public good, community needs, and considered urban planning. Although grounded in the context of Prague, these themes resonate strongly with the rapidly transforming city of Porto. The focus on urban transformation is closely intertwined with the use of new technologies that reshape the very foundations of media representation – like an early deepfake and generated voice applied in Project Zaha, or the overpolished architectural visualisations questioned in Glajcha. Using performed identities as guides throughout his films, Helcel employs humour to deal with resentment caused by the transformation of public space – where the public itself is gradually displaced.
Curator: Pavla Rouskova
The screening is followed by a talk with Habitação Hoje, moderated by Valentina Jesus (RTP Antena 3).
FILMS
Project Zaha: It´s Buildable | Oskar Helcel | Czech Republic | 2020 | EXP.
Project Zaha: Under Construction | Oskar Helcel | Czech Republic | 2023 | EXP.
Glajcha | Oskar Helcel | Czech Republic | 2022 | EXP.
