Tina Dobrajc: Prazne so grape by Kulturni dom Nova Gorica

TINA DOBRAJC Prazne so grape/ Empty Ravines

TINA DOBRAJC

Prazne so grape/Empty Ravines 2.â&#x20AC;&#x201C;23. 10. 2020

Kdo pa tam poje Vsak dan nas obkrožajo prikrita sporočila, ki vplivajo na našo podzavest. Navzoča so v več medijih (v glasbi, filmu, risankah, videospotih, reklamah, plakatih …). Na nas lahko vplivajo negativno in v določenem trenutku odreagiramo drugače, kakor če teh sporočil ne bi bilo. Prikrita sporočila nas nenehno spremljajo in nas na neki način prisilijo v določene vrste odvisnost. Namen podzavestnih sporočil je množična hipnoza oziroma nadzor ljudi. Velik del sveta usmerja pozornost v gledanje televizije, poslušanje radia, branje časopisov in spletnih portalov, s čimer lahko v nas sejejo strah z namenom, da bi nas na ta način imeli v oblasti. Nasprotno pa s svojimi slikami Tina Dobrajc, predstavnica mlajše generacije sodobnih likovnih umetnikov, gledalce nagovarja neprikrito, a enako močno. Močneje! Že leta 2016 je njena mistična slika Ne spadaš v pravo stoletje s filmskim napisom v sliki gledalce (simbolično) pošiljala na pokopališče. Zdaj v tem po vsem svetu turbulentnem času v svojih slikah s paradoksalnim nagovorom sporoča, da si nekateri želijo svet v plamenih (Nekateri si želijo svet v plamenih1), nekateri živijo v temnih prostorih in nekaterim kratijo spanec mračne sanje. Tako umetnica na samosvoj slikarski način raziskuje koncepta identitete in družbenega etiketiranja. Z združevanjem na videz nezdružljivih podob sodobnosti in motivov tradicije ustvarja nove kontekste in odpira nova gledišča tako na sodobnost kot na preteklost. Tina Dobrajc v svojem delu združuje tradicionalno in folklorno s sodobnim in aktualnim. Na sliki Po(žvižgi), kot sporoča povedni naslov podobe, nekdo zažvižga za pravljično odetima deklicama, v ozadju slike je nema priča vizualne pripovedi gradbeni žerjav in ob njem navidezno nehote najbolj opazen lik s črno masko na obrazu. Pod njo, masko, je zakleta duša, podzavest in osebna, skrita, mračna, tragična napoved. Njene črne maske niso ne vseskozi razklane Kogojeve2, ne atraktivno Batmanove, ne bahavo beneške, ne strašljivo današnje koronske, ki prav tako vzbujajo nelagodje, a vez s slikarkinimi je v tem, da nič v njenih

sporočilih ni samoumevnega ali predvidljivega, njen pogled na čas je sestavljen iz tisoč drobcev, ki jih gledalec ne sme ne spregledati in še manj zgrešiti. Novejša slikarska produkcija, s katero umetnica nadaljuje in nadgrajuje dosedanji koncept svojega ustvarjanja, prinaša še bolj grotesken nagovor. Njeni glavni liki imajo celo paleto simbolnih in tudi zelo ilustrativnih vlog (Katarina je ljubila visoke kraje3), a tudi noben drug lik ni zanemarljiv, vsak ima svoj karakter, najraje provokativen, ironičen, zasmehljiv, tragičen. Slika, čeprav ena manjših formatov (ali pa prav zato), učinkuje kot mistična ilustracija Pike Nogavičke na visoki skali z rdečimi škorenjci, v rumeni opravi in s pisanimi trakci v laseh, prepletenimi v čopka, v ozadju pa je s križi prepleteno in z ognjem obarvano nebo. Res je, da tudi risanke Walta Disneyja ustvarjajo nekakšno magično kraljestvo, saj animacija omogoča kreativno svobodo, a v teh risankah se ne prikazuje samo dobro in slabo, ampak se kažejo tudi spolni stereotipi, po katerih prikazovanje žensk vodi v stereotipno razumevanje spolnih vlog v resničnem življenju, kar je za sodobno družbo ne le neprimerno, ampak tudi nevarno. Deklicam premišljeno nadeti kostumi Tine Dobrajc (Zadnjo zimo sem doma postala nevidno dekle) so inventivne, povedne, sporočilne, simbolne in ekspresivne magične skulpture. Kreacije na njenih likih predstavljajo nedialoško, sovražno poanto s poosebljenimi podobami živali, ki skupaj z ozadjem uprizarjajo neverjetno 'krvavo' moč (Državni sovražnik). Kot stol na odru ni le stol, tudi medved na sliki ni le medved in upodobljena maska na glavnem (ali na stranskem) liku ni le maska. Še bolj drastična je slika Vešča sem, željna tvoje svetlobe4. Slika s krvjo oblitimi drevesi, s poosebljeno črno veščo (željno svetlobe), z razgaljeno deklico z avbo in prav tako v belo oblečeno svetlolasko z bleščeče belo harmoniko na krvavo rdečem medvedu izpoveduje natanko to, kar simbolizira slikarkin natančno premišljen naslov.

Domiselna vpeljava angažirane vsebine slikarska dela Tine Dobrajc nadgrajuje ter jih s pomočjo narativne ikonografije odpre za razmislek, sintezo tradicije, sodobnosti in upora. Vse to poudarjajo nenavadno dodani elementi (vezenine, besede, filmsko umeščeni podnapisi, umetne rože …), ki kot del celote umetniškega dela zasedejo svoj, bistven prostor. Postmodernistična pokrajina, ekspresivna figuralika in ženske zgodbe brez romantičnega nagovora ostajajo raziskovalni prostori slikarke Tine Dobrajc. Med njimi v tesnobnem ozračju spleta, prepleta in niza upodobitve osebnega razmišljanja, dialoga s seboj in vizualnega posredovanja svoje najintimnejše likovne pripovedi. Pri njenem ustvarjanju gre v osnovi za ponotranjeno občutenje narave (V temnih prostorih II) in za intimno doživljanje neizogibnega minevanja ter slikarkinega spraševanja o mestu ženske znotraj obojega (Kje si spala prejšnjo noč). In sveta v času, ki ni naklonjen večini ljudi. Njene velike slike angažirano, atraktivno in hkrati iskreno izpovedujejo čustveno izkustvo ženske s tenkočutnim raziskovanjem intimnega samozavedanja in občutenja. Ustvarjanje ideje v slikarski potezi, dodani strukturi in v barvi slikarka uresničuje z osebnimi poudarki in usmerja v možnosti, kako na več načinov ugledati njene velike slike.

figurami v ospredju groteskno insceniranega prostora, nadgrajenega z ready-made predmeti, prevevata nenavadna skrivnostnost in fantastika. Tehnično vrhunsko ustvarjene slike so na prvi pogled mamljive, nerazumljivo privlačne, saj so upodobljena dekleta mlada, njihova koža je gladka, telesa čvrsta, vendar se v gledalca naseli nelagodje. Ekspresivna motivika se ga globoko dotakne, do vsebine mora priti preko simbolne razlage. Slikarka Tina Dobrajc je znova opravila ogromno delo, ki bo prave rezultate začelo žeti najprej s pogledi gledalcev na razstavljena dela, potem pa bo njeno sporočilo na vse, ki bodo predstavljene podobe osvojili in prisvojili, vse bolj skoncentrirano učinkovalo spominsko, podzavestno. Kajti njeni liki so večinoma večplastni, vseskozi razklani, podzavestni, sanjski in fantastični. Tatjana Pregl Kobe

Največja slika Ko nisem s tabo, sanjam mračne sanje, združuje črni humor, maske, svobodo upora. Pogled na malo harmonikašico je pogled na neviden, a pokončen upor. Vsem protagonistom na sliki poje, v črnino odetemu dekletu (namrgodenemu, ne užaloščenemu) s petelinom v roki in obema zamaskirancema. Ampak glas harmonike, kot na koncu filma Kdo to tam poje5, prežene mračne sanje. Likovno-formalno slikarka gledalca nagovarja s klasičnim (post)modernističnim likovnim besediščem, oplemenitenem s sodobnimi vizualnimi podobami. Njene slike z realistično upodobljenimi ženskimi

Naslov slike je povzet po citatu iz filma Christopherja Nolana: Vitez teme.

Marij Kogoj, zmagovalec slovenske zgodovinske avantgarde 20-ih let prejšnjega stoletja, ni napisal le najboljše slovenske in v svetovnem merilu primerljive opere, ampak je opera Črne maske eno izmed najboljših umetniških del v zgodovini vse slovenske umetnosti.

Neimenovana II / Untitled II akril na platnu / acrylic paint on canvas, 15 cm × 15 cm, 2020

Naslov je povzet po skladbi The Wind (PJ Harvey).

Naslov je povzet po skladbi All I need (Radiohead).

Ko to tamo peva, režiser Slobodan Šiljan, 1980. Kultni film je črna komedija, ki se dogaja v Srbiji na dan pred napadom na Jugoslavijo 5. aprila 1941. Avtobus je v zračnem napadu poškodovan, na koncu filma ciganska muzikanta splezata iz prevrnjenega vozila in zapojeta. 5

Who’s singing over there We are surrounded by covert messages that influence our subconsciousness on a daily basis. They appear in various media (in music, films, cartoons, music videos, adverts, posters, etc.) and can have a negative impact on us. At times we react differently than we would if these messages were not present. In a way, the constantly present covert messages push us into a certain kind of dependency. The main intent of covert messages is to hypnotise and control the masses. A large share of the population is focusing on watching television, listening to the radio, reading newspapers and web portals, all of which aim to spread fear that would keep us under control. On the other hand, Tina Dobrajc, a member of the young generation of visual artists, addresses the viewers of her work overtly, but just as powerfully. Or even stronger! Already her mystical painting You Don't Belong to This Century (2016), which includes film style lettering, symbolically sent its viewers to the cemetery. Now that the entire world has found itself in turbulent times, her paintings paradoxically announce that some people want to see the world in flames (Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn1), others live in dark spaces, while still others are deprived of sleep as a result of their dark nightmares. The artist researches the concepts of identity and social labelling through her unique painting style. She creates new contexts by merging seemingly unmergeable images of contemporaneity with traditional motifs, with which she opens new views on contemporaneity as well as on the past. In her work Tina Dobrajc merges tradition and folklore with the contemporary and modern. As the revealing name of her painting Catcalling tells us, someone is catcalling the two girls dressed as if they belong in a fairy-tale. A construction crane stands in the background as a silent witness to the visual narrative and next to it we can see what appears to be an unintentionally placed, yet extremely noticeable figure wearing a black mask over its face. Under the mask is a cursed spirit, the subconscious and a

personal, hidden, dark and tragic story. Tina’s black masks are not the split masks created by Kogoj2, nor the attractive masks worn by Batman, the flamboyant Venetian masks, or the eery corona masks that surround us today. However, the connection between the aforementioned masks and the masks in Tina’s paintings can be found in the fact that nothing in her messages is clear or predictable, her view of time is comprised of a thousand fragments that should not be overlooked or missed by the viewer. The more recent paintings, with which Tina continues to expand on her creative concept, reveal an even more grotesque address of the viewer. Her main characters have an assortment of symbolic as well as illustrative roles (Catherine Liked High Places3), however, the remaining characters should not be overlooked, as each one of them has its own individual character, usually provocative, ironic, mocking or tragic. Even though the painting has been created in a smaller format (or maybe precisely because of this), it functions as a mystical illustration of Pippi Longstocking standing on a high rock, wearing red boots, a yellow dress and colourful ribbons in her hair, while the background is filled by a sky covered in crosses and fire. Even though one could say that Walt Disney’s cartoons also create some sort of a magical kingdom, as animation enables creative freedom, his cartoons do not depict merely the good and the bad, but also reveal gender stereotypes, according to which depicting women leads to a stereotypical understanding of gender roles in real life, which is not merely inappropriate in contemporary society, but also dangerous. Tina Dobrajc thoughtfully dresses her little girls (Last Winter at Home I Became an Invisible Girl) into costumes that are inventive, narrative, symbolic and expressive magic sculptures with a message. The creations in her images present hostile points with personified images of animals, which together with

the background depict an unbelievably 'bloody' power (Enemy of The State). In the same way as a chair on stage is not merely a chair, the bear in the painting is not merely a bear and the mask used on the main (or supporting) character is not merely a mask. The painting I'm a Moth Who Just Wants to Share Your Light4 is even more dramatic. The painting with trees splattered in blood, a personified black moth (who wants light), a revealing little girl with a bonnet and a blond girl dressed in white carrying a shiny white accordion on a blood red bear depicts precisely what the painter’s carefully selected title symbolises. The engaged contents provide Tina Dobrajc’s paintings with additional texture, while the use of narrative iconography opens them up for consideration, a synthesis of tradition, contemporaneity and rebellion. All of this is emphasised by the unusual additions of elements (embroidery, words, film style subtitles, artificial flowers, etc.), which occupy an essential space within the work of art. Tina Dobrajc researches the post-modernist landscape, expressive figures and women’s stories that do not focus on romanticism. She interweaves and lines up depictions of personal thoughts, dialogues with her herself and visual representations of her most intimate visual narratives within an anxiety ridden atmosphere. In essence, her creativity deals with the internalised experience of nature (In the Dark Places II) and an intimate experience of the inevitable transience and the painter’s questioning of the position of women within both (Where Did You Sleep Last Night). She also addresses the world at a time that is not favourable for most. Through sensitive research of intimate self-awareness and feelings, her large paintings express the emotional experience of a woman in an engaged, attractive and honest way. The painter fills her paintings with personal emphasis and opens up the possibilities for viewing her large paintings as she creates the idea with the stroke of a brush, thus adding structure and colours.

The largest painting When I Am Not with You My Dreams Are So Very Dark combines black humour, masks, and the freedom of rebellion. The young accordion player represents an invisible, yet upright resistance. She is singing to all of the protagonists in the painting, to the girl dressed in black (frowning, not saddened) with the rooster in her hand as well as to the two masked figures. The sound of the accordion drives away the dark nightmares, just as it did at the end of the film Who’s Singing Over There5. As regards the visual and formal approach, the painter addresses the viewer through a classic (post) modernist visual vocabulary, which has been enriched by contemporary visual imagery. Her paintings with realistically depicted female figures in the forefront of a grotesquely staged environment, enriched by ready-made objects, are filled with unusual mystery and fantasy. At first glance, the technically masterful paintings are tempting, incomprehensibly attractive, as the depicted girls are young, have smooth skin and firm bodies, and yet, an uneasy feeling settles within the observer. The expressive motifs touch deeply upon the observer, as he needs to understand the contents through a symbolic explanation. Once again, the painter Tina Dobrajc has created exceptional work, which will start reaping results once the visitors start looking at the exhibited works, after which her message will subconsciously start influencing the memories and minds of everybody who had studied and conquered her paintings with full attentiveness, as most of her characters reveal multiple layers, which are divided, subconscious, dreamlike and fantastic. Tatjana Pregl Kobe

The title for this painting has been taken from a quote in Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight.

Marij Kogoj represented the pinnacle of Slovene historical avantgarde in the 1920s. Not only did he write the best Slovene opera that should rightfully find its place on the global stage, but his opera Black Masks is one of the best works of art in the entire history of Slovene art.

The title is taken from the song The Wind (PJ Harvey).

The title is taken from the song All I Need (Radiohead).

Ko to tamo peva, directed by Slobodan Šiljan, 1980. A cult black comedy, which takes place in Serbia, on 5th April 1941, the day before Yugoslavia was attacked. The bus gets damaged in an air raid, and at the end of the film two gypsy musicians climb from the overturned bus and start playing and singing. 5

Naslednja stran: I’m a Moth Who Just Wants to Share your Light / Vešča sem, željna tvoje svetlobe akril na platnu / acrylic paint on canvas, 151 cm × 92 cm, 2020 5

Post Tenebras Lux akril in mešana tehnika na platnu / acrylic paint and mixed media on canvas, 275 cm × 210 cm, 2020

Untitled I / Neimenovana I akril na platnu / acrylic paint on canvas, 15 cm × 15 cm, 2020

Carnival: When I’m Not with You My Dreams Are So Very Dark / Karneval: Ko nisem s tabo sanjam mračne sanje akril na platnu / acrylic paint on canvas, 280 cm × 223 cm, 2019 10

Catherine Liked High Places / Katarina je ljubila visoke kraje akril in mešana tehnika na platnu / acrylic paint and mixed media on canvas, 50 cm × 50 cm, 2020

Državni sovražnik / Enemy of the State akril in mešana tehnika na platnu / acrylic paint and mixed media on canvas, 190 cm × 152 cm, 2019

Karneval II: Prazne so grape / Carnival II: Empty Ravines akril na platnu / acrylic paint on canvas, 205 cm × 168 cm, 2020

Some Men just Want to Watch the World Burn / Nekateri si želijo svet v plamenih akril in mešana tehnika na platnu / acrylic paint and mixed media on canvas, 205 cm × 168 cm, 2020

Catcalling / Po(žvižgi) akril in mešana tehnika na platnu / acrylic paint and mixed media on canvas, 270 cm × 178 cm, 2020 16

Last Winter at Home I Became an Invisible Girl / Prejšnjo zimo sem doma postala nevidno dekle akril in volna na platnu / acrylic paint and thread on canvas, 270 cm × 178 cm, 2019

Where Did You Sleep Last Night / Kje si spala prejšnjo noč akril na platnu / acrylic paint on canvas, 54 cm × 54 cm, 2019

Tina Dobrajc Rodila se je leta 1984 v Kranju. Diplomirala iz slikarstva na Akademiji za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje v Ljubljani (2007), kjer je leta 2011 je zaključila magistrski študij na oddelku za slikarstvo pod mentorstvom Hermana Gvardjančiča. Ustvarja na področju slikarstva, novih medijev, knjižne ilustracije ter gledališke scenografije. Prejela je priznanje Riharda Jakopiča za mlade umetnike (2015), delovno štipendijo Ministrstva za kulturo (2016) in plaketo Hinka Smrekarja (2016). Živi in ustvarja v Škofji Loki.

Tina Dobrajc was born in Kranj in 1984. In 2007 she graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, where she also successfully defended her MA in painting under Herman Gvardjančič in 2011. She creates in the fields of painting, new media, book illustrations and theatre set design. She has received the Rihard Jakopič award for young artists (2015), a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture (2016) and the Hinko Smrekar plaque (2016). She lives and works in Škofja Loka.

Izbrane samostojne razstave / Selected Solo exhibitions 2020 Prazne so grape, Mestna galerija Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, Slovenija / Empty ravines, Nova Gorica City Art Gallery, Nova Gorica, Slovenia 2020 Žival sem, ujeta v tvoj vroč beton, Galerija Kresija, Ljubljana, Slovenija / I’m an Animal Trapped in Your Hot Concrete, Kresija Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2019 Udomačene živali - težko je delati v obleki, Galerija Alkatraz, Ljubljana, Slovenija / Domesticated Animals - It’s hard to Work in a Dress, Alkatraz Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2018 Velika dekleta ne jočejo, Galerija KiBla, Maribor, Slovenija / Big Girls Don’t Cry, KiBla Gallery, Maribor, Slovenia 2017 Velika dekleta ne jočejo, Galerija Božidar Jakac, Kostanjevica na Krki, Slovenija / Big Girls Don’t Cry, Božidar Jakac Gallery, Kostanjevica na Krki, Slovenia 2016 Na senčni strani Alp, Galerija AS, Ljubljana, Slovenija / On the Dark Side of the Alps, Gallery AS, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2015 She(ep), Galerija Zlatno Oko, Donavski Dialogi Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Srbija / She(ep), Zlatno Oko Gallery, Novi Sad, Serbia 2015 Mati sveta, Galerija Equrna, Ljubljana, Slovenija / The Mother of the World, Equrna Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2014 She(ep), Galerija Ivana Groharja, Škofja Loka, Slovenija / She(ep), Ivan Grohar Gallery, Škofja Loka, Slovenia 2012 Wunderkammer; Deposed/Exposed, Tovarna umetnosti, Galerija Tenzor, Majšperk/Ptuj, Slovenija / Wunderkammer; Deposed/Exposed, Art Factory Majšperk/ Tenzor Gallery Ptuj, Slovenia Izbrane skupinske razstave / Selected Group exhibitions 2018 Čas brez nedolžnosti - Novejše slikarstvo v Sloveniji, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Slovenija / Time Without Innocence - Recent Painting in Slovenia, Modern Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2018 Bienale mladih umetnikov ArtExYU, Center sodobnih umetnosti, Podgorica, Črna Gora / Biennial of Young Artists ArtExYu, Centre of Contemporary Art, Podgorica, Montenegro 2016 MIG 21, mednarodna razstava na temo migracij, Kud Kibla, Maribor, Slovenija / MIG 21, International Art Exhibition on Migration, Kud Kibla, Maribor, Slovenia 2016 Slovenindia, razstava slovenskih likovnih umetnikov, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, Indija / Slovenindia, Exhibition of Slovene Artists, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India 2016 Kruha in Iger, Tina Dobrajc in Uroš Potočnik, Mestna galerija Velenje, Velenje, Slovenija / Bread and Circuses, Tina Dobrajc and Uroš Potočnik, City Gallery, Velenje, Slovenia 2016 Vmesni prostor, Galerija Loškega muzeja, Škofja Loka, Slovenija / The Space In-between, Loka Museum Gallery, Škofja Loka, Slovenia 2014 – 2015 Pogled 7 - Pogled na sodobno slovensko likovno umetnost doma in v zamejstvu, Lamutov salon v Kostanjevici na Krki, Mestna galerija Nova Gorica, Likovni salon Celje, Slovenija / Look 7 – A Look at Slovenian Visual Arts at Home and Across the Border, Lamut’s Art Salon in Kostanjevica na Krki, Nova Gorica City Gallery, Celje Art Salon, Slovenia 2013 Veliki črni bik, koga kličeš?, razstava Tine Dobrajc in Mita Gegič, Galerija Equrna, Ljubljana, Slovenija / Big Black Bull, Who Are You Calling?, an exhibition by Tina Dobrajc and Mito Gegič, Equrna Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2012 Lepo slikarstvo je za nami - La belle peinture est derriere nous, UGM Maribor, Slovenija / Beautiful Painting is Behind Us, UGM Maribor, Slovenia

Razstavo in izid kataloga je finančno omogočila / The exhibition and catalogue have been financially supported by: MESTNA OBČINA NOVA GORICA

Katalog izdal/Catalogue issued by: Kulturni dom Nova Gorica (Zanj/Represented by: Pavla Jarc) - Urednica/Editor: Mateja Poljšak Furlan - Avtorica besedila/Texts written by: Tatjana Pregl Kobe - Prevod/Translation: Sunčan Stone - Fotografije/Photographs: Mito Gegič - Oblikovanje in prelom/Catalogue design & DTP: Vid Simoniti - Tisk/Print: Tiskarna Present d.o.o. - Kraj izida/Place of publication: Nova Gorica - Leto izida/Publication year: 2020 - Naklada/Nr. of copies: 250

MESTNA GALERIJA NOVA GORICA Trg Edvarda Kardelja 5 SI 5000 Nova Gorica T: 05 335 40 17 E: mestnagalerija@kulturnidom-ng.si W: www.kulturnidom-ng.si FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Mestna.galerija.Nova.Gorica/

URNIK: od ponedeljka do petka od 9. do 13. ure in od 15. do 19. ure Ob sobotah od 9. ure do 12. ure. Ob nedeljah in praznikih zaprto.