THE LAND OF COCKAIGNE
The Land Of Cockaigne
Katya Quel
The Land of Cockaigne is a mini utopia of pink dreams and acid rain. In Cockaigne everyone will get their own sweet piece of the pie.
The idea of Cockaigne is from a 13th Century French poem, describing a mystical land of plenty. In Cockaigne "the houses were made of barley sugar cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing." In our time, when we already have everything, but need to continue consuming, it is so important to provide society with the opportunity for new seductive illusory experiences.
The inspiration for the exhibition was Kingdom Of Milk Rivers and Jelly Shores, a Russian analogue of The Land of Cockaigne, from Russian folklore. Quel often tells metaphorical and fabled narratives through her works. In this exhibition she is teasing us about our most seductive dreams, playing on the notion of The Land of Cockaigne from the Middle Ages as a utopian place where peasants don't work and enjoy all earthly pleasures for free, akin to Bosch's and Bruegel's paintings, and the "luxury" pleasures of today. Excessive consumption, casino winnings, mountains of coke, never-ending parties, sweet pastries, more intoxication. Each object has its hidden humor including the crocodile hiding the cookies of fate (cookie is also slang for crack cocaine)...please open his mouth and help yourself before you leave.
The castles belong the inhabitants of the magical land are being ruined by overflowing cream and sugar paste. The queen stuffed herself with cake until she vomited, the widow has already taken more than one line, but still glancing to the next one, the businessman got lost in the forest and ended up being re-educated in the land of gnomes and fairies.
The top dance floor never turns off the record for tripping pale party-goers, who don't care that they are just food for the moth. At the entrance, everyone can try to spin their fortune cake and get a piece according to their merits. The happy four-leaf clover calls out: Have a Cookie!* Just because it is ignorant.
Katya Quel is a Berlin based artist and curator, her colourful multi-media works explores dreamlike romantic narratives. Quel’s practice connects underground and pop culture, nature and technology, words and coloured masses, crafty and conceptual artistic approaches, design and art, realm, and fantasm. Her work aims to create worlds in fairy tales and creatures in universes that aim to surpass the traditional canons and reveal new methods of artistic self-placement rooted in subculture.
This exhibition will continue the great work of the House of Illuminati and their event Wonka event in Glasgow, Scotland, their work is extremely important for the community!
Katya Quel
The Land of Cockaigne is a mini utopia of pink dreams and acid rain. In Cockaigne everyone will get their own sweet piece of the pie.
The idea of Cockaigne is from a 13th Century French poem, describing a mystical land of plenty. In Cockaigne "the houses were made of barley sugar cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing." In our time, when we already have everything, but need to continue consuming, it is so important to provide society with the opportunity for new seductive illusory experiences.
The inspiration for the exhibition was Kingdom Of Milk Rivers and Jelly Shores, a Russian analogue of The Land of Cockaigne, from Russian folklore. Quel often tells metaphorical and fabled narratives through her works. In this exhibition she is teasing us about our most seductive dreams, playing on the notion of The Land of Cockaigne from the Middle Ages as a utopian place where peasants don't work and enjoy all earthly pleasures for free, akin to Bosch's and Bruegel's paintings, and the "luxury" pleasures of today. Excessive consumption, casino winnings, mountains of coke, never-ending parties, sweet pastries, more intoxication. Each object has its hidden humor including the crocodile hiding the cookies of fate (cookie is also slang for crack cocaine)...please open his mouth and help yourself before you leave.
The castles belong the inhabitants of the magical land are being ruined by overflowing cream and sugar paste. The queen stuffed herself with cake until she vomited, the widow has already taken more than one line, but still glancing to the next one, the businessman got lost in the forest and ended up being re-educated in the land of gnomes and fairies.
The top dance floor never turns off the record for tripping pale party-goers, who don't care that they are just food for the moth. At the entrance, everyone can try to spin their fortune cake and get a piece according to their merits. The happy four-leaf clover calls out: Have a Cookie!* Just because it is ignorant.
Katya Quel is a Berlin based artist and curator, her colourful multi-media works explores dreamlike romantic narratives. Quel’s practice connects underground and pop culture, nature and technology, words and coloured masses, crafty and conceptual artistic approaches, design and art, realm, and fantasm. Her work aims to create worlds in fairy tales and creatures in universes that aim to surpass the traditional canons and reveal new methods of artistic self-placement rooted in subculture.
This exhibition will continue the great work of the House of Illuminati and their event Wonka event in Glasgow, Scotland, their work is extremely important for the community!
