Kókay Krisztina (Esztergom, 2005)

- The values of Hungarian culture form some kind of a background for the works expressing a desire for freedom. How were the works organized?- There was an exhibition of the relics of 1848 at the Városmajor Gallery on the 15th of March, which I went to see repeatedly. And the outline of the present thematic exhibition started to take shape in my head. I was owing this, in any case. I was an Esztergom school kid at the time, I took part in that incredible march downtown in the first days of the revolution. Some people were removing the red cross from a building when we arrived there; it fell on the street and this was a memory I drew later. One student recited "Rise up Hungarians!" from the balcony of the town hall for which he got 10 years in prison. Pictures 19561—IV were inspired by the houses demolished by shots, which I saw in Pest as well when we went there for food with my parents. The flag motif of They live on in our faith commemorates those killed by the Soviets on the 26th of October. They were sitting on a truck; it turned into the tunnel under the Basilica and was hit. This is what I meant by being indebted... There were other images that stuck in my mind but I am not really systematic; I will continue the series if I can.- Artistic life changed, disintegrated and then reorganized itself in the past few years. Does it make peaceful, contemplative work possible?- Since I worked in Velem I know how good it is to be able to spend a few weeks concentrating on a major work, free from all daily tasks. I organized and led the Textile Arts Workshop in Zsennye from 1992 till 1996, and from 19971 continued this work in Kecskemét, where we can find ideal circumstances for work every October.- What kind of opportunities do you see for Hungarian artists in general at the turn of the millennium?- Generally speaking, I believe that things turned out to the best, since we have got the desired freedom. One thing did come as a bit of a surprise for me: we thought that our works would be much more sought for in this era of new hotels and office buildings. We were sad to see that this was not so. For years we lacked a law similar to the old "two thousandth" one compelling the investor to assign part of the expenses to buying works of art. It was high time this situation changed. True, the artists themselves did not know what they should do. Sitting down and drawing was a solution for me.- But you also won some valuable prizes, for example the main prize of the 1992 Szombathely textile biennial.- One of my major works was rewarded. It is a three meters big, black and gray checked work with a lighting-like line running down its middle. Its title is Resurrection, and we might say that it referred to the situation our profession was in. It meant that those few years were not wasted after all, even if I thought so at the time. I was impatient. But you realize in time that everything has its sense, you only need some time to understand it. I draw because there's no other way for me to tell what is important for me. If you draw what preoccupies you, it doesn't make the problems disappear, but they become easier to bear. You have to let the feelings and the associations come. And they come; I only have to move my hand.

HUNGARIAN NATION, 14. NOVEMBER 2001