Concrete Dreams
Photographing Industrial Heritage
Opening: Friday, 12 September 2019, at 7.30pm
12 September – 25 October 2019
In the project Concrete Dreams we explore the heritage of industrial architecture, as it has been conveyed through the photographic and video media. In the narrower sense, the project raises the question of how certain artists in the visual sphere perceive this heritage today and how it is used as material for their artistic projects in terms of aesthetic relevance. In a broader sense, the question is posed how these media presently reflect the broader context of a certain space and time, which in 20th century post-war Europe encouraged the development of industry and thus of a particular architecture. Today, the latter is being largely abandoned and torn down or is changing its function. The project, however, focuses on the region of the former communist Eastern Europe, i.e. on the countries which, after World War II, adopted or were forced to adopt a socialist political and economic system, even though similar functional architecture was emerging throughout the Western world.
Participating artists reflect on the past through the material remains of selected industrial locations, thus touching on issues of personal and collective memories. In this case, the artistic approach “upgrades” the architectural designs not only at the level of optimal presentation, but, above all, by employing different views and concepts, into which it incorporates architectural objects as motifs of certain broader notions. The selected series of photographs simultaneously explore the compatibility of architecture and photography as media: architecture as static and unique, and photography as “fluid” and reproducible. With this in mind, we have invited for the first part of the exhibition selected Slovenian artists who have in the recent years created notable works or projects dealing with industrial heritage. The project has been, however, set out with broader and longer-term objectives, with the involvement of foreign partners from the region. This “introductory” exhibition will be followed next year by a major international presentation, an international contest, and a program of accompanying activities that will involve various local partners.
Participating artists: Branko Cvetkovič, Danica O. Kus, Borut Peterlin, Mirjana Rukavina, Damjan Švarc, Virginia Vrecl and Antonio Živkovič.
The present exhibition will be accompanied by film screenings showing the post-war industrial history of Slovenia.
