Different Worlds
Lana Bregar / Jaka Bulc / Dejan Clement / Mia Ćuk / Vedad Divović / Ibro Hasanović / Sanja Knežević Jovanović / Andrea Palašti / Tina Umer
7 November – 2 December 2016
Kino Šiška & Photon – Centre for Contemporary Photography
The group exhibition, entitled Different Worlds showcases works of nine emerging photographers from the Western Balkans region. It displays their recent works and thus provides an insight into the latest tendencies of contemporary photography in the region.
This year we have witnessed the fourth edition of the Different Worlds competition and group exhibition with which Photon successfully continues its Contemporary Young Photography initiative, which encourages, evaluates and presents young and upcoming photographers and visual artists, up to 35 years of age. The competition guidelines promote the idea of diversity, difference and critical thought.
The Different Worlds exhibition did not come with a prescribed theme. This was clearly reflected in the diversity of the received works, in their original expressions as well as in the various photographic practices and techniques that were applied. The selected works range from long-term conceptual projects, documentary pursuits and storytelling (real or fictitious), to the appropriation of found photographs and systematic creation of archives. As regards their contents, all works – some looking towards the outside, into the direct surroundings, others turned towards the inside, into the personal world – represent a unique view on the current social reality and an auto-reflection of the artist’s position within it.
It was interesting to see that most of the applications had a strong tie to the current social reality and could be classified as documentary. This could be linked to the region’s past that pushes many artists not only to reflect on, but also to try to influence the society they live in. – István Virágvölgyi
If we take into account the diversity of the received material it would be hard to talk about regional characteristics. We can find critical thoughts on history which often develop into ethnological studies, there were also plenty of photographs which experimented with patterns, surface areas and extraction of the depicted, and there is also space for snapshot aesthetics and documentary approaches. This is undoubtedly a view of the younger generation which above all wants to broaden the field of photography. – Lara Plavčak
The exhibition is divided between two adjacent venues: Kino Šiška and Photon – Centre for Contemporary Photography. The participating artists have been selected by international jury: Sophia Greiff (FotoDoks, Munich) Jasna Jernejšek (Photon – Centre for Contemporary Photography, Ljubljana), Lara Plavčak (Kino Šiška, Ljubljana) in István Virágvölgyi (Robert Capa Center, Budapest).