Horizon Walk
The human figure as a vertical, the water’s surface as a horizontal, stationary boats borne along by the river’s current. A means for individual movement within a collective standstill that enables a single figure to move.
Horizon Walk took place on the surface of the Vltava, along a line connecting the festival’s two principal sites. It was visible from Libeň Bridge and from both banks of the river. Fifteen boats joined together in a single line between the two banks, forming an imagined, temporary bridge. Conceived as a performative and ephemeral project, the work briefly connected the two sides of the river. I crossed from one bank to the other by walking across the decks of the stationary boats. Through a change of direction and an agreement to cooperate, an act of solidarity emerged, opening up new possibilities within the space.
Motifs and inspirations:
The phenomenon of temporary or floating bridges, connecting shores, cultures and civilisations, is associated with urgency, assistance and the need to establish connections where permanent infrastructure has failed. As a consequence of global warming, sea levels are rising, while the levels of rivers, lakes and bodies of water such as the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee are falling. Such changes create a need to imagine new forms of connection.
The motif of crossing over water appears throughout history, from the Old Testament and Eastern religions to contemporary society. It is invariably associated with elements of utopia, determination and faith in one’s own abilities, however extraordinary the circumstances may be.
The performance took place on 16 June 2026 at 6:50 p.m., as part of the opening of the Festival M3.
The festival’s theme, The Verticality of Places, referred to an imaginary connection between two sites: a pit in the ground beside the Sparta stadium in Letná and the abandoned shell of an office building in Palmovka. Festival website: https://festivalm3.cz/
The project responded to a work by the artists Lodewijk Heylen and Ingrid Bay-Larsen, who attempted several years ago to create a bridge of boats in Stockholm Bay. Horizon Walk expanded upon this idea by introducing further layers of meaning through the passage of a person from one bank to the other.
The boat as a means of communication has appeared repeatedly in my earlier work. I regard this project as a loose continuation of the installation 193 Metres Above Sea Level, created on the terrace of DOX for the 2009 exhibition of finalists for the Jindřich Chalupecký Award. In that work, I used a boat as a metaphor for a journey and for the possibility of fulfilling a desire or dream.
(A. K.)
Acknowledgements: My thanks to the captains and crews of the boats from the Czech Yacht Club, Stará plavba II and TJ Libeňský ostrov, and to the captains who travelled from Císařská louka and the Slapy Reservoir.
ARCHILOVE
captain Martin Řežábek /crew Sylva Berglerová & Michal Pokorný
ARTEMIS
captain Karel Drašnar /crew Kristýna Drašnar Andrlová, Jan Drašnar & Kristýna Drašnarová
BÁRKA
captain Jaroslav Vorel /crew Milada Albrechtová & Jan Gebauer
CASCARUDA
captain Pavel Strnad /crew Kateřina Mandová
ČERVEŇÁK
captain Martin Houska
GINA
captain Jirka Ledvinka /crew Pavel Koubek
GRAND VIZIER
captain Lukáš Franek /crew Adam Robinson Korecký
LA HABANA
captain Michal Christ /crew Veronika Christová
LEON
captains Mirka Frčková & Michal Frček
MIRABEL
captain Jirka Vystavěl /crew Lucie, Violka & Valentýnka Vystavělovy
NIRVÁNA
captain Zdeněk Sünderhauf /crew Jarka Brusnická, Eva Hokovská, Miriam & Zdeněk Chudomelovi
OLD JOHNNY
captains Tomáš & Martina Cvikrovi, cvikrdesign.cz /crew Berenika & Matyáš Cvikrovi
SOLARIS
captain Josef Chosé Valušiak /crew Vendulka & Michal
SOLENE
captain David Korecký /crew Oliver Andy Korecký, Lodewijk Heylen, Radek Krampl & Iveta Vychová
SVOBODA
captain Milan Macek