34. Wish Comet

Jana Matejkova (Czech Republic). Sound installation by Andrew Dickens

Installation

Jana Matejkova worked with the women of HMP Low Newton and their children over several months, and in the tradition of wishing on a star, she displays their hopes and dreams in this artwork,Wish Comet.

The installation is made out of the everyday identification wristbands that you might see at festivals or nighclubs. 5,000 of these fluorescently coloured wristbands, bearing the wishes of the women and their children, will react with UV light to become a powerful luminescent artwork. Sound recordings of the children's voices and the women's own hopes spoken by Charlie Darby-Villis (Development worker at HMP/YOI Low Newton) are used as a base for a composition which, in the end, will simulate the sounds of space.

As well as Wish Comet, which can be seen in an open public space in Durham, Jana Matejkova has worked with the women of Low Newton Prison and their children to create Wish Planet, an associated artwork on display inside the prison.

With special thanks to Durham County Council's Prison Library Service.

About the artist

Jana Matejkova was born in 1979 in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. She studied a Masters in Sculpture in 2004 in Brno, Czech Republic, and has also studied at Düsseldorf Kuenstakademie and Akademie den Bildenden Kuenste in Munich and was a recipient of a DAAD Scholarship. She has lived and worked in Edinburgh since 2007.

A sculptor and performer, Jana works with space, light and sound. She experiments with light and shade and creates artificial landscapes, usually as site-specific installations.

Special thanks to the community of HMP Low Newton, Durham City Arts, NEPACS, New Bridge and HM Prison Service.