An increase in global temperature by one degree causes the rise of new animal species. Pizzly Puzzle is a project that brings hope for addressing the crucial issues of today: environmental crisis, migration, pandemic, and extinction and cross-breeding of animal species. In a playful form and with hyperbole, it comments on an individual’s lack of freedom within a system of invisible or visible networks and on the virtual world overlapping with the physical one. It works with the metaphor of mutation as a positive strategy for the survival of both nature and culture. A mule, a centaur, a liger, a sphinx or the kraken are not mere pranks of nature or mythological fantasies – they are visible evidence of the shared genetic foundation of life. Pizzly the bear is a symbol for this action – a hybrid creature formed in mankind-dominated nature. It is not its fault, but it has inherited some of the worst traits of its parents. Its mobility in the snow and on ice may be compromised due to its Grizzly dad’s too-long claws. Swimming is not its forte either – it takes a hump, a short neck and the mouth after its Polar Bear mum. How will the mutant Pizzly tackle its burdensome heritage? Will the regular administration of vitamins from paradise help? Eventually, it shows that Pizzly’s traits may actually be an advantage in the new environment.

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The group Die Früchte was formed in the summer of 2020 as a loose collective of artists. The core members are Hanka Poislová, Veronika Drahotová, Veronika Bromová and Jana Orlová, with other artists in various genres in tow (Jana Preková, Veronika Jílková, Monika Načeva, Daniela Voráčková, Marie Hlad, Revo Lucie, Halka Třešňáková, Jiří Surůvka, Tereza Hoff, Tiffany Tiger, Tomina Bořil, Jakub Dittrich, Jakub Gotwald, Michaela Švédová, Ondřej Skala a JTNB, Jana Kozubková, Markéta Ptáčníková, Petra Gupta Valentová, Linda Mikolášková et al.). “Across different phases and versions, with both the environment and the line-ups of both performers and authors changing, we try to convey a message in our more or less “fashion” performances. The messages are more obvious sometimes and less obvious other times, and most of the time, there are multiple messages linked together and overlapping. We use our own momentary stances, reflecting on our personal experiences and footprints, and illustrating and mapping the hits with the notional ‘apples’ of our personalities…” Die Früchte soaks up the current topics, which often become the backbone of the performance. The viewers’ role is important: they create their own versions of the event in their mind.