Arven Šakti Kralj Szomi in Noemi Veberič Levovnik INSIDE OUT 4.6. – 19.6.2016 Galerija DLUL

Arven Šakti Kralj Szomi & Noemi Veberič Levovnik: Dvojice

Na skupni razstavi z naslovom Dvojice bodo v sklopu seriala Inside Out predstavljena fotografska dela Noemi Veberič Levovnik in Arven Šakti Kralj Szomi. Dvojnost je namreč leitmotiv pričujoče razstave, hkrati pa na različnih ravneh zaznamuje tudi dela obeh avtoric.

Umetnici zavestno in na sebi lasten način kršita postulate fotografskega ustvarjanja. V iskanju izjemnosti vsakdanjega trenutka kot avtorsko izjavo uporabljata jezik vernakularne fotografije. Zato nista tipični iskalki oziroma ustvarjalki podob, ampak raziskujeta različne načine rabe ali reciklaže fotografije, ki je lahko kot medij v svoji sporočilnosti skrajno neekzaktna. Noemi privzema najdene fotografije ter iz njih na podlagi lastnih referenc lušči namišljeno zgodbo popolnega neznanca. Arven se posveča raziskovanju t. i. neformalnih fotografij, ki nastajajo spontano in nenačrtovano, da bi v vizualni maniri skicirale nekatere nebesedne ideje. Obe pišeta zgodbe iz intimnih okolij, ki več skrivajo kot odkrivajo, vendar so njune podobe obenem izjemno asociativne, medtem ko manko podanega konteksta zgolj povečuje izziv, ki se pojavi pri poskusih racionalnih interpretacij del.

Arven v seriji Prazno ali polno predstavlja fotografske diptihe, ki prikazujejo refleksijo vsakdanjih opravil in dogodkov. Njihova kvadratna oblika namiguje na instantnost Instagrama (ali pa to dejansko je), spletne platforme, ki je običajno namenjena neposrednemu beleženju in distribuciji zasebnih dogodkov. Danes je prav Instagram tista najbolj elementarna oblika vernakularne fotografije. Avtoričini motivi so skrajno domači in intimni, dvoumni, a asociativni ter vselej temelječi na subtilnem podvajanju motivov in pomenov. Vsaka dvojica piše svojo nelinearno zgodbo, ki nakazuje arhetipske teme, kot so porajanje in propadanje, ujetost in svoboda ter življenjski cikel. Obravnave življenjskega cikla se iz druge perspektive loteva tudi Noemi. Če je osebni fotografski album odsev posameznikovega življenja, potem predstavlja izguba celotnega arhiva vsaj simbolno smrt le-tega. Avtorica je namreč naključno našla obsežno zbirko osebnih fotografij neznanca, ki beležijo daljše časovno obdobje njegovega življenja. Najdeni material tako zastavlja številna vprašanja: kdo je oseba na fotografijah in predvsem kaj je razlog, da so bile fotografije zavržene? Avtorica rekonstruira njegovo življenje na podlagi lastnih pričakovanj, referenc in fiksacij, ki se nanašajo na obsesivnost sodobnega voajerstva. Fotografije je preučila, jih skušala interpretirati, jih performativno čistila, vanje fizično intervenirala in iz njih sestavila lastno fiktivno zgodbo, ki temelji na univerzalni moči podobe.

Miha Colner

http://www.photonicmoments.net/

Arven Šakti Kralj Szomi & Noemi Veberič Levovnik: Doubles

As part of the Inside Out feature, the joint exhibition entitled Doubles will display photography by Noemi Veberič Levovnik and Arven Šakti Kralj Szomi. Duality, the leitmotif of the exhibition, shapes the works of both artists on several different levels.

Both artists deliberately choose to disregard the postulates of photography, each in her own signature style. They search for the extraordinariness of everyday moments using the language of vernacular photography as their artistic statement. This makes them atypical seekers, or creators of images. They explore various ways of using or recycling photographs, a highly undefined medium, in terms of message. Utilising found photographs and drawing on her own references, Noemi constructs the fictional story of a complete stranger. Arven, on the other hand, focuses on exploring so-called informal photography, where images are taken spontaneously and without deliberation, as visual vignettes for some unarticulated ideas. Both artists tell stories of intimate environments, stories that hide more than they reveal. Yet they produce highly associative photographs, the lack of context only increasing the challenge of attempting to interpret their works rationally.

In her series Empty or Full, Arven exhibits photographic diptychs, reflecting on everyday chores and occurrences. Their square format implies (or indeed derives from) the instantaneousness of Instagram, an online platform used primarily to directly capture and circulate private occasions. Today, Instagram is the most elementary form of vernacular photography. The author’s motifs are highly informal and intimate, ambiguous yet associative, invariably based on subtle duplication of motifs and meanings. Each diptych tells its own non-linear story, pointing to archetypal subjects such as birth and death, captivity and freedom, and the life cycle. In a sense, the ‘life cycle’ is also a subject matter for Noemi. If a personal album of photographs is a reflection of one’s life, then the loss of an entire archive could, at least symbolically, represent one’s death. By chance, the author happened upon a vast collection of personal photographs of a complete stranger chronicling a long period of his life. The found material opens up a number of questions: Who is the person in the photographs? And most importantly, what is the reason the photographs were discarded? Noemi reconstructs his life based on her own expectations, notions and fixations, which hint at the obsessiveness of modern voyeurism. The photographs were subjected to examination, attempted interpretation, performative refinement, and physical intervention by the artist culminating in a fictional story steeped in the universal power of image.

Miha Colner

http://www.photonicmoments.net/