Small but dangers, Bio i nestao 3 (He was and has disappeared 3), 2021, modified ready-made, 22 cm x 18 cm
Špela Škulj, Kunming Zoo, 2018, analog black and white photographs, inkjet print on archival paper, 40cm x 40cm
22 January – 20 February 2025
SKC Korotan, Albertgasse 48, Vienna
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You are cordially invited to attend the opening of the exhibition Snow falls not to whiten the slopes but to reveal the tracks of a beast.(serbian proverb) by Small but dangers and Špela Škulj on Wednesday, 22 January 2025, between 7pm and 9pm at the SKC Korotan Gallery, Albertgasse 48, 1080 Vienna. The exhibition will be on view till 20 February 2025.
Curated by Nina Skumavc.
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The artworks of Small but dangers collective and photographer and visual artist Špela Škulj can easily be distinguished at first glance – they differ in aesthetics and visual characteristics. These artists belong to the same generation, but it is their sensitivity and exceptional ability to observe the nuances of everyday life and translate them into artistic language that forms the core of the dialogue between their works in this exhibition. Small but dangers (Mateja Rojc and Simon Hudolin) is showcasing an installation based on difficult-to-identify shards, chips, and remains of the world (installations, collages, works on paper, ready-made objects, works on canvas, video). In contrast, Špela Škulj will display her series Kunming Zoo (2018) and Lightscapes: Red Earth (2018).
The juxtaposition of older and newer pieces by Small but dangers is there to defy the persistent imperative for the new. They make this even more evident by using found objects. How they collect them is not based on a predetermined concept or logic; their archaeology of the everyday is determined by the fact that these objects are traces of civilisation that contain intangible and specific aesthetics. Note that they leave some objects untouched while others are subject to slight manipulation or even become elements of a composite artefact. In this way, their method of collecting and creating objects tends to overlap, even merge to the point of fusion where the viewer can no longer separate them from one another. Because all exhibited pieces possess a sense of familiarity, they arouse curiosity. Still, one either fails to arrive at a definitive identification of the pieces or discovers, upon closer observation, that the first impression was a deception. Already the name of the collective – a deliberate misspelling of the phrase »sitan ali dinamitan« (»small but dangerous«) – hints at the entire methodology of their artistic practice.
There is a sense of playfulness in their practice. Coupled with strong associative elements, it affects the viewer’s memory. While browsing through one’s memory – the archive of images we keep – and attempting to define the whole are bound to fail, this opens up space for imagination and new ways of experiencing and seeing elusive elements, the works themselves, and the installation as a whole. The simplest and most everyday-like objects, materials, and forms placed here in the context of a gallery provoke life, thus creating a unique gallery situation that gradually unfolds before us. As elaborated in the 2022 exhibition in P74 Gallery, where they first put found objects to the forefront, SBD believe that the materials of this world contain the ideas of those who shape those materials. If a part of this world breaks off, a trace of the whole will persist: »Since we don’t have the strength to demolish the giant, we shall tickle him to make him kneel. We will mix up the details so he won’t know what came before and what came after.«
On the other hand, Špela Škulj’s artistic practice can be described as a personal documentary – she is interested in the relationship between humans and nature and the dichotomy between nature and culture. The title, Kunming Zoo, is misleading, as hardly any animals are seen in the black-and-white images. We follow images of zoo visitors shot from behind. Over time, we may notice that these people are wearing clothes with animal patterns and fashion accessories resembling animals – such details deepen our understanding. In this series, the artist highlights the attitude of the Chinese towards animals; the latter are featured in popular animated films and consumer goods, but in reality, they mainly represent food. It is common in China to serve a dog or cat and to use animal parts for medicinal preparations. China is also the largest country in terms of fur production. The outdated equipment and other conditions in the zoo and their approach to animals confirm this.
The method of using small, unspectacular scenes and associations to lead the viewer to read between the lines in the Kunming Zoo series is similar to that in the Lightscapes: Red Earth series in the sense that Škulj avoids adding any drama or moralisation to it. This series consists of four photographs of a semi-desert area in southern Morocco that connects to the Sahara Desert and the conflict zone of Western Sahara. One of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, this land is dominated by a harsh climate that is not friendly to humans. Observing the bare landscape reveals the paradox of what people are willing to do for the possibility of life, and the question of why they continue to live in such extreme conditions suggests several possible answers. The Lightscapes series was created in 2003, when Casablanca, the largest and most Western-influenced Moroccan city, suffered one of the most extensive bombings in its history. As in the previous series created by Špela Škulj, a critical stance can only be discerned in her sophisticated dramaturgical play between detail and the whole. The dialogue between these artists, much like the very exhibition, offers insight into the practice of meticulous, precise observers of the world, who make nothing evident at first glance but rather question the very matter-of-factness of whatever comes into our view.
Nina Skumavc
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Small but dangers (SBD) are Simon Hudolin and Mateja Rojc (1977). They have been working as an artistic collective since 2004, after graduating from the College for Painting in Ljubljana; Simon Hudolin completed his master’s degree at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana in 2015. The SBD convey an intimate and poetic (but also rough and provocative) understanding of the banality of everyday life – as a vision of an unprecedented (destructive) power that a single small subject can create. In 2008, they were nominated for the OHO Group Award, while in 2017, they were its recipients. In 2013, SBD and Matija Brumen were awarded the second prize in the Photography of the Year 2013 Competition. SBD has also received the VIG Special Invitation Award as part of the 2015 Essl Art Award CEE and the 2019–2022 Award for the Best Artist Book in Slovenia. They have participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions, among others, in Ljubljana, Zagreb, Vienna, Belgrade, Athens, Pivka, Celje, Osijek, Novi Sad, and Ravne na Koroškem.
http://smallbutdangers.si/
Špela Škulj (1982) is a visual artist in contemporary photography and video. In 2007, she graduated in cultural studies from the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana. Her artistic expression most closely resembles personal documentarism. She frequently addresses the themes of ecology and the irreversible impact of humans on the environment, advocating for a posthumanist worldview through which she explores the issues of loneliness and feelings of the meaninglessness of human existence in the contemporary world. Her work has been showcased at several solo and group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad, including the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana, KAPSULA (P74 Gallery) in Ljubljana, Photon Gallery in Ljubljana, Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova in Ljubljana, Central Station in Maribor, AQ Gallery in Celje, and Chef d’Oeuvre in Osaka, Japan. She is a two-time winner of the Different Worlds: Photography Competition for Young Photographers (2014, 2017) award, the winner of the photobook competition (2016) organised by the Photon Gallery, and a two-time nominee for the OHO Group Award (2019, 2022). In addition to her work as an artist, she works as a theatre technician and lighting designer. She lives and works in Ljubljana.
http://www.spelaskulj.net
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Production: Zavod P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. / P74 Gallery, Ljubljana
In cooperation/support by: SKC Korotan, Vienna and SKICA, Vienna.
