Invisible_Animals

DESIGN: Mária Bačová

Slovakia

make me! 2024

This project emerged during the pandemic when we were all confined indoors for safety, feeling the discomfort of restricted freedom. She began daily readings on endangered species, crafting paper-cut illustrations based on gained knowledge, enriched with light and shadow. These illustrations formed the prototype of a book. Despite this year’s design festival theme of comfort, my project highlights its cost –often at the expense of animal and environmental well-being. Its aim is to raise awareness about endangered species and their threats. Light and shadow play pivotal roles; without light, there’s no animal image, and without viewer engagement, the full message remains undisclosed.

Invisible_Animals, design: Mária Bačová / from designer’s archive

Mária Bačová

Set designer, graduate of Puppetry and Technology of Puppets in Bratislava (2018). Co-founder at Divadlo Veteš (Junk Theatre). Collaborated with the SK IBBY, creating interactive exhibitions. Worked scenographically with various theaters in Poland and Slovakia, including Puppet Theater in Łomża, Guliwer Theater in Warsaw, in Kielce, and in Opole. Her original illustrations were featured in the collective exhibition “Return to Nature, Maybe You’ll Make It” at the Smolna Gallery in Warsaw. She’s a recipient of a scholarship from Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Directed a play for autistic children, “Lili and Momo,” at Peróne Theater (SK, 2023). She’s also the author of the international interdisciplinary project “Linguistic” (SK, 2023). In December, 2023, she opened her first solo exhibition featuring illustrations from the Invisible_Animals project at the Rotational House of Culture in Warsaw.

DESIGNER’S PORTFOLIO