The Most Beautiful Catastrophe
The Kosovsko-Laskár wetlands are located in the Central-Western Slovakia and are probably the first example of newly emerging wetlands and marshes in Slovakia. They formed as a by-product of the underground extraction of coal near the Nitra river. These wetlands have been created during the past forty years of coal mining. The landscape has changed: large sinkholes have been created affecting both housing and the natural environment. This change in the environment forced people to move away from the area, forming an unusual habitat as a way for nature to find balance with the radical change of the ecosystem. After several years the situation was made worse by a crisis at the still operating mine, when water was discharged from its flooded tunnels up to the surface. As miners began to pump this water into the nearby creek, it burned their skin. The mixture of ash and hydraulic emulsion managed to kill all life in the creek.
Formed in 2011, APART is an artist cooperative based in Bratislava. APART performs research, creative and artistic production, project- and exhibition-making / curatorial production, publication and archiving. The artists initiate, create, organise and exhibit group manifestations (often inviting and giving space to other artists and theoreticians) but they also operate individually. Today, its members include Ema Hesterová, Denis Kozerawski, Chiara Rendeková, Peter Sit, Andrej Žabkay. www.apart.sk