THE 28TH BIENNIAL OF GRAPHIC ARTS

The 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts is a multifaceted event with a long tradition; it consists of a number of exhibitions as well as other happenings. Once again, the Biennial’s central exhibition, The Matrix: An Unstable Reality, on view for two months in Ljubljana galleries, will focus on contemporary graphic art in the broadest sense of the term.
At the invitation of the International Centre of Graphic Arts, which proposed the theme of the main show, this idea was further developed and shaped by Galerija Alkatraz, Galerija Ganes Pratt, Galerija Jakopič, Galerija Kapsula, and Galerija Škuc, which are also serving as venues for the Biennial. Alongside the central exhibition, the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts includes as well the Artist’s Book Salon, the traditional exhibition for the winner of the Grand PriX from the previous Biennial, and a number of accompanying exhibitions.

THE MATRIX: AN UNSTABLE REALITY

Art director: Božidar Zrinski
Curators: Gülsen Bal & Alenka Gregorič, Petja Grafenauer, Jadranka Ljubičič, Tadej Pogačar

The exhibition responded to certain vital questions for society and art raised by the cult movie trilogy The Matrix. Does a medium stay the same once it incorporates new technologies in its discourse? Does this increase the audience for art? What is the social power of those who possess the matrix? Is the possession of the matrix enough to also justify exclusive reproduction rights? Can we create a perfect world, whether real or virtual? The exhibition offers a selection of more than eighty internationally established and emerging artists. Their work extends from traditional and contemporary printmaking to artist’s books and interventions in the public space, in the mass media, and on computers.
Artists:
Afsoon, Vahram Aghasyan, Julieta Aranda, Nika Autor, BAS/Bent, Viktor Bernik, Anita di Bianco, Sabine Bitter & Helmut Weber, BridA (Sendi Mango, Jurij Pavlica, Tom Kerševan), Chto Delat (Dmitry Vilensky), Lee Chul Soo, Jorgen Craig Lello & Tobias Arnell, Ksenija Čerče, Vuk Ćosić, Vesna Drnovšek, Igor Eškinja, Małgorzata Etber Warlikowska, Jesper Fabricius, Jakup Ferri, Ivan Fijolić, Ye Funa, Fernando García, Samuel Grajfoner, Ivan Grubanov, Dejan Habicht, Bu Hua, Hungarian Double-Tailed Dog, Ištvan Išt Huzjan, Space Invader, Justseeds, Dejan Kaludjerović, David Kareyan, Sameera Khan, Taiyo Kimura, Iva Kovač, Jelena Kovačević, Matej Košir, Borut Krajnc, Ana Lozica, Tanja Lažetić, Nicola López, M-City, Ján Mančuška, La Más Bella, Ines Matijević Cakić, Eva & Franco Mattes, Zhang Minjie, Tracey Moffatt, Ivan Moudov, Carlos Motta, Alban Muja, Nika Oblak & Primož Novak, Ahmet Ögüt, Juan Perez Agirregoikoa, Cesare Pietroiusti, Nada Prlja, radioCona, Société Réaliste, Betsabeé Romero, Francesc Ruiz, Adrian Sauer, Klaus Schafler, Nana Shiomi, Jelena Sredanović, Katja Sudec, Therese Sunngren, Swoon, Miha Štrukelj, Marko Tadić, Tomaž Tomažin, Nasan Tur, Ignacio Uriarte, Huiqin Wang, Patrick Ward, Maria Alicia Zamora Noguera, Moises Yagües Fernandez, Katarina Zdjelar.

Nada Prlja’s Project

Bad News Project III

The reality of our lives is portrayed to the public on an everyday basis through the information that is published in newspapers. Having grown accustomed to such information, we no longer notice the amount of shocking and disturbing news delivered by newspapers and other forms of mass communication.

With this project, the artist refers to the increasing coverage in newspapers, of the various cases of honour killings occurring in European countries. The title and subtitle of a particular article on this topic, giving the approximate number of honour killings per annum in the UK, is drawn onto the wall of SKUC gallery,

Over the course of a day, the words are thickened with a net of lines, which ends up becoming a black (graphite) block on the wall. This darkened area on the wall, symbolises the act of killing and the disappearance of the individuals.

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Screen Shot 2018-12-24 at 01.57.28 — Bad News Project, by Nada Prlja, 2009

Screen Shot 2018-12-24 at 01.57.33 — Bad News Project, by Nada Prlja, 2009

Venues: International Centre of Graphic Arts, Tivoli Mansion, Alkatraz Gallery, Ganes Pratt Gallery, Jakopič Gallery, Kapsula Gallery, Škuc Gallery, and also Europlakat billboards in Ljubljana, media spaces and the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts catalogue
Open: 4 September−25 October 2009, Tuesday-Sunday, 11:00−18:00.

Members of the Grand Prix Award Jury of the 28th Biennial of Graphic Arts were:
Katia Anguelova, Milano; Jota Castro, Brussels; Bassam El Baroni, Alexandria; Valeriya Ibrayeva, Almaty; Kim Jyeong-Yeon, Seoul; Eha Komissarov, Tallinn; Julia Moritz, Leipzig.

Interview with members of the jury

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