Vesna Bukovec:
I am aware of the possibility to be misunderstood
Exhibition

September 8-22, 2011
EX-garage, Gregorčičeva 56, Maribor
Opening: Thursday, September 8, at 7 pm

We are informing you about the exhibition project of Vesna Bukovec, SCCA-Ljubljana's webmaster.

How to cope with failure? The fear of making wrong decisions can cause a sort of mental paralysis and can have a negative effect on our self-esteem. Vesna Bukovec is dealing with these issues in her new works How to fail successfully, I am aware of the possibility to be misunderstood and When I wake up, I am going to create something beautiful.

Vesna Bukovec, from series How to Fail Successfully, 2011

The DIY instructions of self-mutilation in drawings How to fail successfully humorously deal with the distress of an individual in the contemporary society driven by values such as success, health and happiness. In social psychology the term self-handicapping is used to describe the process by which people avoid effort in the hopes of keeping potential failure from hurting their self-esteem. If psychological case studies describe mild to severe self-destructive behaviors (self-pity, lack of sleep excuses, prescription and illegal drugs abuse), drawings of Vesna Bukovec offer instructions on various extreme self-handicapping with tools from the domestic environment.

Vesna Bukovec, from series I am aware of the possibility to be misunderstood, 2011

Drawings I am aware of the possibility to be misunderstood depict self-doubt and self-esteem issues that are typical not only of artists but also of average person. In the style of comics the message of each drawing is mediated with the use of three panels containing a female silhouette and a text on her t-shirt. All messages are in English, which is used consistently in the work of Vesna Bukovec. Although herself a non-native speaker, she uses it as a language of global communication as well as an effective distancing effect (Verfremdungseffekt).

Video When I wake up, I am going to create something beautiful is a poetic statement of self-censorship and difficulties encountered in the search for new ideas.

Organized by: Fundacija son:DA
Supported by: Ministry of Culture, Municipality of Maribor, EPK 2012, Zavod Kolektiva, SONAL

More info:

• www.vesna-bukovec.net/eng/archives/1213
• Ex-garage

Vesna Bukovec (1977) graduated and completed MA at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana. She works as a solo artist as well as in the art group KOLEKTIVA (with Metka Zupanič and Lada Cerar). In recent years she has presented her works at numerous solo and group exhibitions. Her artistic work finds its expression in a variety of media (video, photography, drawing, installation) and approaches (research, appropriation, participation, etc.).

[Published September 7, 2011]