Vegetation: Nika Erjavec, Tina Konec, Tea Kralj, Tilyen Mucik

The group exhibition Vegetation showcases the works created by four visual artists, who, in their work, focus on various aspects of depicting and treating nature through the art perspective. In their practices they address the relation of mankind towards the natural environment, which has inevitably been demonstrated and reflected in the dominant visual culture and art in the past, as well as during the present times.

Even though numerous civilisations have, during the course of history, managed to establish an apparent division between wild nature and man-made culture, the mentioned distinction is today viewed as forced and skilled. However, nature has always represented an inspiration for culture and art, as these have always summarised its forms, structures and manner of operation. The attitude people have towards the natural environment has always been two-faced: on one hand it has been extremely competitive, as we always had the desire to subdue and control nature, while on the other hand, the relation has always been symbiotic as people always viewed nature with special admiration and awe. The works shown at the Vegetation exhibition thus reflect deep attachment and connection of the participating artists with everything earthly, which is to a great degree visible in their diverse use of vegetative or plant elements. The four artists show extreme diversity in their artistic practices: Nika Erjavec presented a new media spatial installation, Tina Konec showcased a series of large format drawings, Tea Kralj a series of paintings and Tilyen Mucik focused on a selection of photographs in an expanded field. In their lucid, engaged and multi-layered artistic practices the artists reveal the human dependency on nature and the environmental afflictions of the contemporary world.

Curator: Miha Colner

Photo: Jaka Babnik