LINKS TO THE FUTURE
 

This summer, Stará Tržnica comes alive with art once again – this time, its premises will host an interactive installation by visual artist Ján Šicko, titled *Links to the Future*. The multimedia installation draws the visitor directly into the epicenter of a digital space-time, where they gradually explore the relationship between individual identity and the collective consciousness of the community. Through digital technologies, the visitor becomes an active part of the work – their face, movement, gesture, or expression leaves a visual and audio trace that transforms in real-time into a living, constantly changing mosaic of human stories. Without the need for words, we activate an interactive dialogue between human and technology through our gestures, facial expressions, or movements – a symbolic digital mirror that shows us as creators of our own stories and of our collective memory.

The installation becomes a space of introspection and shared experience – the seemingly invisible gradually takes form here as a living database that continuously grows and transforms our collective presence. This digital mosaic reveals what we live, what we feel, what we believe – who we are and who we used to be. Created specifically for this occasion, the installation is an important response to the increasingly felt polarization of society, the growing fragmentation of public space, and the erosion of trust in institutions. Not in the form of protest, but as an artistic gesture that does not seek something to fight against, but something to stand for. The installation reminds us that our future is shaped by the decisions we make here and now. Every step, gesture, or stance leaves a trace – personal and collective. What are we leaving behind? What kind of message are we creating? Sound traces – real testimonies, fragments of voices, breaths, reactions – float through the space like layers of thought, temporarily composing alternative scenarios of what the community's future could look like. The mosaics of our stories thus become an open platform for imagination, dialogue, and the shared search for meaning in a time that often feels fragmented, uncertain, and unclear.

Zuzana Pacáková, curator

Ján Šicko

A multimedia surfer, graphic designer, and educator at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, where he founded and leads MediaLab* – a specialized environment exploring the outer limits of visual communication. He is the creator of interactive installations, audiovisual performances, computer games, and works as a VJ under the name DevKid. Recipient of the National Design Award. And a long-distance runner