GlooMY sunday

2006

In the "GlooMYsunday" installation, a "sportswear collection" is featured, comprising three pieces of clothing and a closely related pseudo-advertising film. The theme revolves around the issues of market and advertising mechanisms, as well as the artificially generated feelings of life.

The objects are exact replicas of real clothing items made of concrete, seamlessly connected under the guise of a fictitious sports brand. I've made the clothes genuinely wearable, to the extent that they are indistinguishable from their original counterparts—although they are sized for one specific body size (my own). Heavy cast concrete details alternate with the original lining and overlay materials, blurring the line between the object and its representation. A simultaneous tension arises between the reality and the absurd fiction of the material and the objects, aiming to create an ironic effect.

The total disfunctionality of the collection mirrors countless elements in our material world, burdening our everyday lives with a depressing decorative functionality in a practical sense. To resolve the tension created by the heavy concrete clothes, I reached for elements of cultural history when creating the brand. These elements add black humor to the symbolic unity of the objects. The brand I created is based on a real Hungarian product, a "product" that gained worldwide recognition. "Gloomy Sunday," composed by Rezső Seress, became a hit in the 1930s and 1940s, interpreted by artists such as Billie Holliday, and in more contemporary times, by Sinead O'Connor, Björk, or Portishead. What casts doubt on its usefulness in terms of the country's image is the wave of suicides it triggered.

Under the influence of the song, broken-hearted lovers jumped from both the Golden Gate and the Liberty Bridge, forming a global community. The fictitious advertising film primarily revolves around this, presenting the outline of an ominously romantic story. It is complemented by my mother's voice, humming the main theme of the song as an undertone. This represents a hidden point of connection with the lovers jumping into the river—a phenomenon that aligns with the same time layer as the creation of the song. It echoes a method of murder cultivated by gangsters—the use of concrete boots. In addition to the identity of the historical context, there is a visceral connection of fear. This fear can be applied to the movement of a person dressed in an 85 kg garment in water or any environment. With this visceral feeling, the catchy motto "life is too easy" becomes an unsolvable paradox for the brand.
Videos: Annamária Németh
Photos: Csaba Horváth