Příběh
You know that feeling
From the first trip I took abroad I knew that exploring new places would always be among the top activities for me, but you know that for sure, so I won't stretch it, In short, I have been thinking for years about how to combine traveling and creating in a way that I would not be reliant on taking vacations after working for long periods of time, but would allow me to work "on the road" .
I've tried the possibilities of working behind a laptop, but seeing so many hours a day a monitor burns my brain out. At the same time, I knew I couldn't enjoy a vacation like someone else, which is just lying on the beach and doing nothing. A little late, but still, I figured it was time to "push through" what fulfills me at home and move it out into the world.
It all starts with “I give a f*ck” on my t-shirt
I first developed a love for the linocut technique in high school, and I still have the graphics I created. In college, focused on art education, I began to feel the need to express myself through prints on clothing, and it turns out I'm not the only one. It started with a sign that said "I give a f*ck" (in slovak) and not to contradict myself, it got me interested in sustainable fashion, activism, and a whole lot more. Over the years this has developed into linocut printmaking on second hand textiles and lots of creative workshops for all ages.
Okay, what is this linocut print in my rendition?
That I take an old PVC floor, carve a graphic into it with chisels, print it on a piece of fabric and have this fabric sewn onto second hand clothes that have some tacky print on them and so on. This way we create one sustainable and original piece out of three pieces of "waste".
Well, I'm taking this form of upcycling further through workshops where you can try out this graphic technique and create your own motif on your own piece of clothing. A beautiful demonstration of the effectiveness of workshops for me is that when people uncover a self-created graphic, they usually jump for joy, dance and enjoy what their hands have created.
I have brought these workshops to schools in cities and Roma settlements, to festivals and corporate events, to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Portugal and even to the Canary Islands. And I want to take them further. :)
So what is the goal?
After years of dreaming, I bought a Volkswagen T4 Transporter. However, as it happens, all the savings that were left went into subsidiary repairs related to timing, brakes, seals and so on (You know the drill).
The aim of this campaign is to raise funds to convert the interior into a mobile printmaking workshop containing all the tools and equipment needed for linocut printing and upcycling of clothing. So press, paints, folding furniture, papers, other interior finishing, things to sit on.... May I bring this method of enlightenment to wherever the four wheels of my dream T4ka take me.
... And the icing on the cake?
If the campaign goes more than well, who knows, maybe the van will even become a mobile tattoo studio that can stop in your town. :)
Who am I?
My name is Igor Hanečák and my favourite activity is to make a "whip out of shit". I often work with waste, from which I create my own products or ideas for workshops for children and adults. In addition, in recent years I have created things where they were seemingly missing (like workshops in Roma settlements, a gallery in an abandoned railway underpass, a creative centre in Poprad, a mobile waste recycler and much more).
I finished my MA degree in Art Education so that I could do these workshops professionally. Apart from these contraptions, however, my primary focus is on tattooing and linocut printmaking. T-shirt prints are a form of expression for me, and it gives me immense joy that the people who purchase them see it that way.
Why all this?
Creating this kind of campaign has been in the back of my mind for a few years now, but I wasn't so sure about any of the ideas until now. Honestly, I can think of better things where you can send your money today, but I've set up the rewards so that it's more of a feel-good purchase for you and for me, first of all, feedback on whether such an activity and such an idea makes sense for others than me.