Masaryk On the Go!

Description

While singing the Moravian folk song Ach synku, synku (Oh son, son), we left a bust of the first president of the Czechoslovak Republic at the Masaryk Train Station in the centre of Prague, along with a note asking co-travellers to take him along on their journey. The bust waited here until someone before someone took it under their wing and helped it on its journey across Europe. Anyone could follow the course of the journey on the Masaryk jede! (Masaryk On the Go!) Facebook page, where it was documented by travellers themselves.

We put Masaryk in the travellers’ hands because we are interested in the topics of help and politically engaged art. Short trips in various directions add up into a single long journey which no single person can have absolutely under their control, but they can still help create it. Beyond the border, Masaryk becomes an outstretched hand; an invitation to dialogue; a symbol of openness. With this gesture, we wanted to test the courage of travellers in taking part in the European journey of this important statesman, the first president of the Czechoslovak Republic, democrat and humanist, “Daddy” Masaryk, as he is known in the Czech Republic.

The bust made it all the way to Klánovice, just outside Prague, where it was lost. There are rumours in the Klánovice pub of someone taking it to Kolín, or to Kutná Hora, with the traveller in question falling asleep and missing their destination. Supposedly, “Míša” or “old Barták who works for the rail company” could know more. We were unable to track either of them down.

We later created another bust of Masaryk, which we left at the Central Train Station in Prague, from where it disappeared without a trace without having travelled anywhere.